About a year ago, TLC Recovery rented a 7,000-square-foot home on the Intracoastal Water in the Cove neighborhood in Deerfield Beach. At the same time, the Caron Foundation purchased two homes in Delray Beach of comparable value.
Delray residents were up in arms. They put up tiny protest signs through the neighborhood.
After reading about the uproar, Pat Jolivet went to look at the signs and spoke with the residents. He returned to the Cove and called a meeting of the Cove neighbors. Pat had similar signs printed and TLC continued forward.
He returned to discuss the Delray signs with residents, critiquing the signs as too small and worded so as to have no impact on Caron’s clients. The signs in fact had little effect and Caron is fully functional.
The Cove residents changed their tactics. New, larger signs were printed, attacking by name TLC Recovery and its business model. They were up for the duration with no thought on how the neighborhood looked.
Residents became activists to protect their neighborhoods. Cove residents spoke at the hearing for reasonable accommodations; neighbors installed video cameras and pictures were taken of people going in and out; articles were posted to dissuade potential clients.
TLC couldn’t get clients and was not operational within 90 days. It did not meet this reasonable accommodation and couldn’t make money. It left.
How does this relate to the coast? California and Florida are becoming the rehabilitation and sober-living capitals of the U.S. More will be coming. The cities must work together and be strong as communities to fight the invasion. Many of the clients are court-ordered drug and sex offenders. Our children are in danger. Our house values and selling abilities will collapse.
Delray and Boca Raton need to learn from the Cove residents, or their neighborhoods will be filled with rehabilitation and sober-living facilities. The Cove’s strategies may not be popular; however, they worked!
Judy Giller
Deerfield Beach
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