BONO — It once housed the Bono Church of Christ, but soon the brick building at the corner of Church Street and Arkansas 226 will be home to about 30 mentally troubled children - a situation upsetting to neighbors.
Methodist Family Health, a behavioral health service based in Little Rock, announced last week that it purchased the church and intends to open a children's psychiatric care facility there by March. The center will serve up to 28 youths, ages 6-18, said Methodist Family Health Director Craig Gammon.
Gammon has told residents that while some children at the center will have had "brushes with the law," they won't be considered dangerous offenders.
"They are children," Gammon said. "They are not considered a threat to others. They will be here because of some type of abuse or neglect at home.
"Our goal is to get them stabilized and then move them out," he said. The children will be treated there from three to six months.
Children will undergo therapy, attend classes and learn social skills.
"All their needs will be met there," Gammon said. "I think people have a fear of the unknown. People here are not familiar with mental health facilities and they are afraid. We have a lot of group homes in neighborhoods across the state.
"It's not strait-jackets and locked cells anymore," he said.
Still, some neighbors are concerned.
"You can't believe what they say until you get them in here and see what happens," said Betty McElrath, who lives behind the church. "I know the kids need a place to stay, and I'm not against them. I'm just against them being here."
Methodist Family Health officials bought the church, about a block south of Bono's main intersection of U.S. 63B and Arkansas 226, because they felt a need for such a facility in northeast Arkansas.
The city of Bono, a Craighead County town of 1,500 eight miles northwest of Jonesboro, has no zoning regulations and a business can set up shop in a residential area, said alderman Billy Stephens.
The organization oversees behavioral centers in Jonesboro and Harrisburg in northeast Arkansas, along with ones in Little Rock, Maumelle, Searcy, Batesville, Helena and Texarkana.
"When St. Bernards closed their treatment center for children, it left a vacuum for psychiatric treatment," Gammon said, referring to the privately owned St. Bernards Regional Medical Center in Jonesboro.
Officials will remodel the old church building by installing security windows, locks and living quarters, Gammon said. They'll also fence the property.
Gammon met with residents last week to try to allay any fears.
"We are going to be good neighbors," he said. "We expected concerns and we intend to try and alleviate them. It will be difficult to do so until we move in there."
Ken Payne's son spent time in a Memphis psychiatric centerfor children, giving Payne what he calls a first-hand view of life in a psychiatric center.
Payne, who lives within 30 feet of the church, said he fears for residents' safety if any of the patients escape the center.
"It is quite unnerving," he said. "This facility is right at my front door.
"I think they sugar-coated the issue as far as telling us what we are up against. If someone escapes, the first thing they are going to do is look for nearby transportation. I don't want them trying to break into any of our houses.
"They say they are onlychildren," Payne added. "But remember nearly 10 years ago when two children shot all those people at our school. It took only two and you saw what chaos and havoc they caused. Instead of two, they're talking about nearly 30 kids."
Payne was referring to the March 28, 1998, shooting at Westside Middle School where four students and a teacher were shot to death. Ten others were wounded. Mitchell Johnson, then 13, and Andrew Golden, then 11, were found guilty of five counts of capital murder in connection with the shootings.
Arkansas, Pages 19, 23 on 10/28/2007