NICE — Personal Support Group (Personal Support Group) in Nice is under new management. A three-month temporary lease was handed over to Dr. Bob Gardener, former owner of the property who is still legally tied to it. The managers/owners are foreclosing on the property, which provides residential living and drug and alcohol services. In a letter provided to the Record-Bee, Gardener authorized Hilltop Recovery Services to speak on his behalf and to become involved in the facility. On Thursday, Hilltop Recovery Services, an alcohol and substance abuse residential treatment facility based in the mountains of Middletown on Socrates Mine Road, spent the entire day cleaning the lakeside property.
Hilltop residents and former residents said they were happy to help in the community effort to clean the site. Two truckloads of garbage were hauled off at the end of the day. Of more than a dozen residents, seven remain and of those, five plan to remain. Rent payments will be worked out on a “case-by-case basis” between renters and Dr. Gardener, Hilltop Recovery Services Director Ryan Runyon said, who co-directs Hilltop with his wife Lori Carter-Runyon.
In a letter dated April 14, PSG manager Ginger Costanzo handed the lease of the property over to Gardener for three months, asking $1 per month.
Garrett Kegel is one of the remaining residents. “As soon as it fell apart, people lost faith and left. People thought PSG was going to keep us clean. I need a sober living environment and it wasn”t happening,” Kegel said.
He joined in with Hilltop workers during the clean up. Step-up Services, a construction company that employs former Hilltop residents once they graduate from the program, also donated time.
Neighbor Paul Hughes, owner of the mobile home park Sunset Strip, said he was sorry to see the former managers fall on hard times. He said there had been a few incidents where drug and alcohol may have been abused at the former PSG, but “nothing major.”
“In just two hours, the transformation that happened was remarkable,” Hughes said, commenting on the clean up. “Really, no-one seemed like they were in charge. When the split-off [of management] happened, things started to falter. Now with help from the Mountain [Hilltop], I have a lot of confidence it will be better,” Hughes said.
Runyon said the main goal at this point is to make sure the remaining residents have food, support, and to help clean up the facility. The next step, with the county”s blessing, will be to transform the facility into something akin to Hilltop”s. At present, Hilltop is providing support and the facility is strictly drug and alcohol free.
Hilltop resident Jeremy Lawrence helped clear debris and brush, as well as cut low-hanging tree branches. “It made me feel good to put back into the community and see the results. It was definitely blight conditions when we got here,” Lawrence said, standing in the neat, freshly mowed yard.
Lori Carter-Runyon said Alcohol and Other Drug Services and the county”s mental health department “all worked together and made sure people got placed where they needed to be, back in their counties.”
“Right now we”re cleaning it up, paying the water bill and bringing food. We”re going in and cleaning up everything, and making sure the buildings are brought up to code. Some of the living arrangements were really bad,” Lori-Carter Runyon said.
Neighbor Barbara Wrede said the facility is a “drop in the bucket” in terms of social services needed in the community. “But at least it”s a step. I would like to see it solidly a women”s facility.”
Wrede witnessed PSG”s operations, as her home is in clear view of the facility.
“I think it was relatively low-level and not particularly therapeutic. It was a way station or park-in-place. There wasn”t enough support or activity for these people. The one thing I was sure of was there was not going to be a drunken party on Saturday night. I felt pretty comfortable living here.”
Contact Elizabeth Wilson at ewilson@record-bee.com
