FREDERICKSBURG, Va. — Residents concerned about a current plan to bring an addiction recovery center to a community in Stafford County turned to Gov. Glenn Youngkin, (R) Virginia, for help.
During his ‘Parents Matter’ event in Falmouth, a woman asked Youngkin if state leaders can collaborate with county officials on how to better handle a new outpatient center.
Concerted Care, a substance abuse treatment company based in Maryland, applied in January to take over a building at the Woodlawn Shopping Center on Deacon Road. Its locations provide different services including behavior health therapy, mental health wellness, and medication-assisted treatment (MAT) that involve the use of methadone and buprenorphine.
“I’m not against methadone clinics,” said resident Rachel Statler. “I think they’re important and needed but this isn’t the right place for it.”
With the current zoning ordinance in place, the zoning administrator approved the plan in March without the need for public hearings and a meeting with the Stafford County Board of Supervisors.
Neighbors who live across from the location worry about what it would mean for traffic since there aren’t enough parking spaces, home value, and safety. They stress the clinic is too close to their homes, schools, and daycares.
“We're not disputing the treatment, rather where it is located because my son's bus stop will be in the parking lot in front of the clinic,” said resident Melissa Cook. “If we can find a location that would better serve the people seeking treatment.”
“In my opinion, this would be better suited near a hospital so if something happens during treatment, the people are closer to the hospital,” said resident Quovaunda Jefferson.
Despite concerns about its proximity to families, a new law supports addiction treatment providers in Virginia. Senate Bill 300 removed the requirements that centers offering addiction treatment must stay at least half a mile away from a school or daycare.
After he was asked what else the Commonwealth can do to help alleviate concerns, Youngkin, who is vocal about fighting the opioid crisis and providing resources, said “The law is the law.”
“The process of deciding where these go and the framework around it is one that because of the bill went to the local board of supervisors and that’s where this discussion should rest,” said Youngkin.
“I think there are other options but the ‘law is the law’ is not the option I was looking for,” added Statler.
There is currently an appeal with the Board of Zoning Appeals. The board has three months to decide, according to county spokesperson Andrew Spence.
Meanwhile, Supervisor Meg Bohmke tried to call a meeting to revise the zoning ordinance for medical clinics at Wednesday night’s board meeting. However, Supervisor Monica Gary walked out and stopped the possibility of a discussion since there weren’t enough members in the meeting.
“The way it was going was I was just a butt in the chair, so, that the meeting could go on in a direction in my opinion was not in the best interest of the county,” Gary said during a video she posted on her Facebook page.
Todd Abraham, clinical program director at Sandstone Care Reston, said the ongoing fight will only further stigmatize an already stigmatized population. He pushes back on the notion that these clinics will drive up crime and questions the proposal to have it closer to a hospital.
“The idea that this brings more crime to an area is just not true,” Abraham told WUSA9. “When you’re helping reduce that activity, you’re actually reducing potential crime indirectly that way as well.”
“The idea is to reduce as many barriers to care as possible, and having a facility embedded in the community, it reduces the barrier such as travel, distance to a center, and it enables people in the community struggling with the issues to have better access to the care they need,” added Abraham.