LEWISBURG — Three women hoping to turn the Tuscan Villa, a 19th-century mansion in the borough’s historic district, into a halfway house for women making the transition from prison to society met with a mostly hostile crowd of potential neighbors Thursday night.
Valley residents Betsy Snook, Susan Herrold and MaryAnn Huber hoped to use the session to discuss the need for the project, called Rita’s House Transitional Home, and to listen to the objections they knew neighbors would have.
The resistance they met was substantial.
One homeowner, Henry Maguire, said: “The women in this program are not anyone I’d like to have as a neighbor. They are convicted criminals. I canvassed several people today, and we will oppose this to the very end. This project will go in over my dead body.
“This house, if it were to be established as a halfway house, would not raise property values,” he continued. “I think it’s naive of you to think this is even a reasonable idea.”
Another neighbor said she had lovingly restored her house at great cost. “I tell you, I will offer my house for sale if you establish the halfway house in my neighborhood.”
Another resident said, “I know a family that lives yards away from this address, and they have young children who play outside. So for me, this is a safety issue.”
Snook countered by citing safety statistics at a halfway house in Williamsport, the Transitional Living Center. “In 22 years, they’ve not had any criminal incidents in their nearby neighborhood,” she said.
She conceded that her group did not yet have the money to buy the 60 S. Second St. property, which soon may be offered at sheriff’s sale.
Money would have to be raised through county and state Department of Corrections funds and donations. The group estimated it would take up to $500,000 to restore the house, which is in disrepair, to its former grandeur as a single-family home.
Snook took some time to explain the concepts behind the project. Residents of the house would be from state and county prisons. The target population would be about 20 women.
She said: “These are women that one way or the other are going to be released and returned to our area. We recognize that no one wants this in their backyard, but we would be careful in screening who could live in the house. Our vision is to empower imprisoned women to become confident and responsible women, who will successfully reintegrate into society.”
Toward the end of the meeting, Snook said: “It’s clear that this is not a neighborhood where this would be welcome. But that doesn’t mean that Rita’s House will not occur. It may occur somewhere else, where it is more welcome. We didn’t intend tonight to inflame the neighborhood and get everyone upset.”
Not everyone at the meeting was against the project. Babbette Rose-Faison, who lives on Market Street, said she was a domestic-violence victim and came to Lewisburg 15 years ago. “These women need help,” she said. “No one wants them to be their neighbor. It’s hypocritical of Lewisburg. Lewisburg wants to uphold an image, like there are no bad things happening here. But there are. So I don’t understand why a transitional home, with proper supervision, wouldn’t help the community. I understand property values would go down. But what about helping other people. Isn’t that important?”
Lewisburg Councilman Trey Casimir, who represents the 2nd Ward, in which the home is located, attended the session. He said there was a lot to recommend the idea, but at best, it would face enormous zoning hurdles. “This would be a prohibited use of the property,” he said. “It would call for a fundamental changing of the rules. If it applies at this address, it would apply anywhere within the zoning district. So they have a big uphill run to accomplish this thing.”
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Most object to proposed halfway house
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