ROANOKE, Va. – UPDATE
The mental health and substance abuse clinic was approved by the Board of Zoning Appeals at Wednesday’s hearing.
ORIGINAL STORY
People who live along Williamson Road in Roanoke are sounding the alarm over a proposed mental health and substance abuse treatment center.
Clay McClintock has lived off of Williamson Road for over 20 years. Recently, he learned of efforts to bring an outpatient mental health and substance abuse treatment clinic just a few blocks from his home.
“We’ve already had problems in the past where families don’t feel like they can let their kids out and play like they used to,” said McClintock.
The company trying to open the clinic is Acadia Healthcare Inc.
There are currently eight locations already in our area, from Lynchburg to Galax and South Boston.
According to the application, this center would provide counseling and medication-assisted treatment methods, like methadone.
“It’s taken us too long to get the old problems that we had here straightened out. To be honest with you, I had a drug house right here across the street,” said McClintock. He also serves as the president of the Noble Neighborhood Watch.
Before the former bingo hall can be turned into a mental health and substance abuse clinic, a special exception application must be approved by Roanoke’s Board of Zoning Appeals.
The Board of Zoning Appeals is scheduled to meet and vote on this application on Wednesday, Jan. 10 at 1 p.m.
Acadia Healthcare sent the following statement to 10 News regarding the proposed location in Roanoke.
Our country is in an ongoing public health crisis and opioid addiction remains at epidemic levels both nationally and worldwide. In addition to our large and diverse network across the state of Virginia, which provides all levels of care as well as specialized programs for Veterans, pregnant women, and other vulnerable populations, we currently treat over 900 patients in Roanoke at our Comprehensive Treatment Center (CTC). We believe this second location is an important step toward creating access to those who are suffering from opioid addition locally. The Acadia CTC Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) care model is an evidence-based approach to opioid treatment that improves relapse rates, reduces overdose deaths, reduces arrests and enhances patient well-being. Within our national network of CTCs, 80% of patients test negative for opioid use after six months of treatment. We look forward to partnering with everyone in the Roanoke and surrounding communities to ensure they feel safe and confident in the services we hope to provide.
Acadia Healthcare