Should ex-offenders run a business? West Haven community at odds

By Crystal Carlson

St. Leonard’s Ministries, located at 2100 W. Warren Blvd. in West Haven, is proposing to give ex-offenders a chance to enter the main stream business world by opening a coffee shop called Gracie’s nearby on Madison Street.

The proposal has caused mixed reactions, receiving kudos from those who want to see ex- offenders given a chance at the American dream and criticism from those who say “not in my back yard.”

St. Leonard’s has offered its services to ex- offenders for more than 50 years. Although often referred to as a “halfway house,” Bob Dougherty, executive director of St. Leonard’s, said that title is not quite accurate.

“Rather than a halfway house, St. Leonard’s Ministries is a series of programs to which an individual commits himself or herself upon release from prison,” Dougherty explained. “It is a pathway to a new way of life, which takes commitment and hard work on the part of program participants.”

St. Leonard’s Ministries is composed of two houses that provide residency, case management, and employment services to former offenders. About 35 to 40 men live in St. Leonard’s House, with 15 to 18 women living in Grace House. It is impossible to label residents as particular types of offenders.

Dougherty said their past “crimes vary widely. The main similarity is the presence of addictions in the residents’ past situations. Without exception, each individual who comes to St. Leonard’s or Grace House is striving to rebuild his or her life.” In 2005, St. Leonard’s Ministries received a federal grant to expand its services by opening the Michael Barlow Employment Center, which is named for a former drug addict who came to St. Leonard’s in 1988.

Barlow became the center’s first after-care counselor before his death in 1996. Among its many classes, the center offers a food services program, which not only gives students from Grace and St. Leonard’s Houses experience for potential employment but furthers the organization’s larger aim of helping residents transition back into society.

St. Leonard’s latest proposal for expanding its services involves opening a coffee shop on Madison between Damen and Western Avenues. The coffee shop would give students from the Barlow Center’s food services class important experience in working with the public. It also would have an apartment above, providing housing for women who have completed the Grace House program.

The idea of a coffee shop run by ex-offenders has some community members concerned.

As Don Justice wrote on the Catalyst Chicago blog, “Please understand that we are not opposed to the facility or the program, just the location. We believe that prime real estate along Madison should be reserved for businesses which will act as anchors and attract additional retail businesses to the area. In addition, the neighborhood is already saturated with social
service type programs and facilities, and this facility would increase the density of low income housing, which makes our community less attractive to retail businesses.”

St. Leonard’s Ministries, on the other hand, sees the coffee shop as helping revitalize the neighborhood. Dougherty said, “This would serve the community by attracting other retail parties to the area. I do not anticipate any downsides.”

“There are plenty of facilities in the neighborhood that support felons,” countered Amy Knapp. “I think the neighborhood is saturated. To use a free lot for more felon housing would be a shame when the scales are already tipped sosignificantly.

“I don’t doubt St. Leonard’s does a good job, but if this neighborhood continues to have as its main industry taking care of low income residents and felons, its residents will have to look elsewhere for jobs, food, recreational activities, etc.,” Knapp said. “It’s a disappointing prospect when you live here.”

The Madison Retail Revitalization Initiative (MRRI) supports the coffee shop. Established with the purpose of making West Haven attractive to potential commercial tenants, MRRI believes St. Leonard’s proposed shop is one of  the potential  tenants the organization is happy to attract.

Despite the MRRI’s excitement over more potential business on Madison, some community members worry about possible danger.

The coffee shop’s proposed site sits adjacent to the Mabel Manning Branch Library, and some residents feel uncomfortable that their children, who frequent the library, would be in close contact with ex-offenders through the coffee shop.

When asked his opinion on the coffee shop, Michael Quinlan, program manager of MRRI, said, “The Mabel Manning Branch Library is named after a community hero who set the wheels in motion for West Haven’s present transformation in the 1990s.

Mabel would be thrilled to hear she would no longer have to walk more than a half-mile for a cup of coffee.”

Local resident Monica Brown offered a differing view. “We want board members and the St. Leonard’s staff to use the same level of integrity, honor, respect, and safety in our area as they would in their own neighborhood,”

Brown said. “St. Leonard’s houses sex offenders and I would be interested in knowing if a sex offender moved in next to them [board members and staff] or their grandchild, would they stand by and do nothing?”

Although St. Leonard’s coffee shop proposal remains in the early stages, Dougherty said he does not anticipate any barriers or red tape.

“There are steps that have to be taken, and we are working with Alderman Robert Fioretti and other City government components to ensure these steps are taken,” he stated.

Community members are taking steps as well to get Fioretti to prevent the coffee shop from opening. The Homeowners of WestTown (HOW) organization has held meetings to discuss what residents can do to combat the proposal.

Another resident, Jim Bosco, wrote the alderman a letter opposing the project. Bosco wrote, “Please do not tell me that these folks [residents of St. Leonard’s and Grace House] are harmless.

Simply put, the odds of me committing a felony are nearly zero; the odds of one of the folks from SLH committing a felony against someone in the neighborhood is hundreds maybe thousands of times higher. When you factor in more offenders the probability of having one of these folks commit a crime here is not a question of if but when. I believe you are familiar with the HOW organization; I have asked within that group for anyone who disagrees with me to step forward and tell me where I am wrong. So far, I hear only silence.”

Fioretti, who was unavailable for comment, has since been in contact with Bosco. Residents plan to hold additional meetings and discussions with Fioretti.

“We hope by working with the Alderman, we can stop the expansion,” Brown said. “We will gather as a group and protest in front of each board member home as well as the location they want to build.”

The debate over St. Leonard’s coffee shop is far from over, but Dougherty has a proposal for those opposed to the idea. “Perhaps those who are uncomfortable with such possibilities could expand their horizons a bit and make some room at the table for individuals who have made mistakes and, more importantly, have made amends for these mistakes.”