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Pettus Read

by Pete Edwards

Local residents opposed to the location of a proposed rehab facility for drug addicts

and released prison inmates in their community, met to formally organize themselves to fight the plan at a grass roots meeting at Oak Grove Elementary School on August 27th. The Promised Land Foundation (PLF), a residential rehabilitation complex for up to five hundred men, women and juvenile offenders and the homeless, is the brainchild of Beverly Finnell who has donated over 83 acres of property near her home on Bates Pike for what she described as a call from God to help people escape the bondage of repeat drug abuse, petty crime and unwanted homelessness. First conceived in the Fall of 2002 Ms. Finnell sought the help of area leaders to make her dream a reality, organizing luncheons and a fund-raiser to gain support for

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the plan. But according to neighbors of the proposed facility they were not involved in the process and are unhappy with the possibility of felons and dangerous criminals being let loose in their community. Karen Wooden, an organizer for the group appealed to the Bradley County Commission to stop the PLF locating in her neighborhood and presented them with a petition of 527 area residents opposed to the plan. She said that the organization of the group is in response to the lack of support they have received from county commission members, local leaders, and the mainstream press. Only 4th District Commissioners Howard Thompson and Jim Smith have shown support for the group's request that another location be found.

During the August 27th group meeting, area residents voiced concern that the PLF was not about helping people but was a vehicle to receive state and federal funds in the form of President Bush' Faith Based Initiative grants for local self help projects and that control over the type of offender accepted to the facility would be dictated outside the community. They are also concerned that local homeowners would suffer increased crime and eventually all taxpayers would foot the bill for additional law enforcement personnel to keep residents safe. In an October 28, 2002 Cleveland Daily Banner article, Finnell was reported to have said "she has been assured that there are "literally billions" [of dollars] in grants that can be obtained for this type of development." Although she has since said in a recent interview that the PLF complex would be structured as a self supportive farm and agricultural facility using PLF residents themselves to generate funds.

There has been no projection released by PLF of the likely operating cost or financial impact to the community.

Promised Land Foundation Executive Director David Webb, has said that the facility will be modeled on the Delancey Street Foundation project in San Francisco but with a local faith based bias. The Delancey Street Foundation http://www.grass-roots.org/usa/delancey.shtml is reported to have been successful in rehabilitating over 1,000 former drug abusers, ex-convicts and former homeless people in a facility they run themselves, led by an unpaid staff of one: Co-founder and President/CEO Mimi Silbert. Webb also tried to allay fears of lack of local

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