A Massachusetts state judge has ruled a drug and alcohol addiction treatment center can operate in a residential neighborhood in Springfield.
Turning down a bid by neighbors to block it, a judge found that the program, although operated by the Hampden County Sheriff’s Dept., is primarily educational, and is exempt from local zoning requirements.
Sheriff Mike Ashe said the program, which has operated since the late 1980s, needs to be in Springfield where inmates have access to a community-based support system.
" 73 percent of the inmates ( in the program) succeed after three years, so that is a real indication that it is working," Ashe said.
The treatment center, which accepts inmates from throughout western Massachusetts, was forced to leave its longtime location to make way for the MGM casino.
Ashe, in April 2015, announced the program would relocate to the former Holyoke Geriatric Authority building and operate there for 18 months until a permanent location was found in Springfield.
A plan to move to a site in the city's North End was rebuffed by stiff community opposition.
The center is moving to a former nursing home in the Maple High Six Corners neighborhood.
