Facility that would house mentally ill adults won't be built in Glen Oaks area; residents still on edge
BATON ROUGE- Councilman Darryl Hurst says his phone is still ringing everyday with questions about plans for a psychiatric hospital that would house adults who are not fit to stand trial.
A month ago, it seemed like the idea was dead, but neighbors are nervous the idea could be resurrected. Residents have made it clear they do not want a facility like this right next to two schools and a neighborhood. Many like Vince Hutchinson are scared for the safety of residents if the facility is built after all.
"It's just not right," Hutchinson said. "My kids roam the neighborhood because they feel safe. The last thing we need is for something like this to come."
President of the Glen Oaks area neighborhood Chris Richard says much like Hurst, he still get calls and concerns from people nearby. Richard says they have to make sure the facility can't be built.
"We have to keep our foot on the gas to make sure that whatever happens, whoever owns it, understands we don't want this facility here," Richard told WBRZ.
For Hurst, that idea isn't enough. He told WBRZ the goal is to make sure this does not happen again, anywhere in the parish.
He plans to put a resolution to the Metro Council Wednesday night, that would make sure a facility like this would not be built within one mile of a neighborhood and two miles of a school.
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"Our goal is to make sure that we protect not just this one area, but the entire parish from suffering from the same things this would have caused in the Glen Oaks community," Hurst told WBRZ.
"How would they like it if it was in their neighborhood? They wouldn't stand for it, they wouldn't go for it," Hutchinson added.
If the Metro Council approves Hursts' resolution tomorrow, it will go to Planning and Zoning.
Hurst is asking people in the parish to go to tomorrow's meeting and voice their concerns.