Editorial: Greenfield Hill Neighbors Have A New Meaning For NIMBY

Neighbors for Neighborhood Preservation is a small community group in Fairfield Connecticut and would like to set the record straight following an opinion editorial published in the Connecticut Post on Feb. 25, 2020, by Mr. Michael Allen, a retained attorney by Newport Academy.

We don’t know you, Mr. Allen, but it’s clear you already have decided you know us, and our town of Fairfield. We are the “neighbors” who you have coined the “NIMBY” reactionists.

For our community group, the term "NIMBY" means something very different.

"Now I Must Become Involved."

We want to start by saying very clearly there are no doubts and no denials among our community group that there has never been a more important time to get substance abuse and mental health treatment right. Our country is directly involved in an unprecedented opioid epidemic. Addiction and mental health disorders do not discriminate, so neither should access to treatment. Substance abuse disorder and mental health disorders impact millions of families within many communities, including some of our own, right here in Fairfield. The disease knows no racial, economic, gender or religious boundaries, and every family is at risk of being impacted by addiction. We simply hope that the same protection from discrimination would extend to protect all individuals who require access to long-term residential living opportunities.

Just last week a small group from NFNP, who are all volunteers, took time off from work and visited the capitol in Hartford to testify before the senate housing committee’s public hearing. The most powerful and heartfelt moment of the day was hearing the concerns of an existing member of our community. This local community member shared fears for their severely intellectually disabled child and his future long-term residential living status. The concern comes from Newport Academy falsely classifying as a group home rather than a medical treatment facility. Group homes cannot operate within 1,000 feet of each other or comprise more than 0.01 percent of any town’s population. Moon-lighting has lasting consequences!

Let us outline a number of important facts.

• Newport Academy under the cover of an LLC purchased two homes in Fairfield during January of 2019. Newport Academy is owned and ultimately run by the Carlyle Group.
• Newport Academy seeks to operate residentially zoned, single family homes as drug and mental health treatment facilities. They are very deliberately targeting the 18 to 26 age groups and seek up to six patients and 10-plus staff for 30- to 90-day treatment periods at each property.
• Newport Academy facilities would not accept any in-network insurance within the state of Connecticut, and will not accept Medicaid Husky insurance.
• Newport Academy is only focused on accepting patients who can afford (likely through their parents) upwards of $1,300-a-day for treatment, which would amount to $117,000 for a patient’s treatment term of their target 90-day recovery goal.
• Newport Academy was notified by the Office of Health Strategy that it would have to complete the certificate of need process for a mental health residential living center.
• Knowing this important fact, Newport Academy clearly and deliberately misrepresented itself to the Town of Fairfield in seeking a zoning change of use to group home status.
• Significant ambiguity exists in the definition of group homes and NFNP, with the help of our state delegation, have sought clarity through the introduction of SB-185. We urge bipartisan support of this bill. We believe our town zoning officials and Zoning Board of Appeals ultimately need clarity on these important distinctions.

The evolution of the CON process has revealed more facts about the proposed business and operating model of Newport Academy. Put simply, Newport Academy is abusing the federal and state statutory rights of protected classes who rely on group homes to provide transit treatment programs that last less than 90 days for patients who will return to their residences, many of which are out of our state.

Newport Academy is already in violation of section 8-3e(3) in so far as they are not willing to receiving funding from the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (which would require them being subsidized by the Medicaid program).

The provision of behavioral health and substance abuse treatment medical services across our country and state relies on a payer mix of patients to facilitate important care provision to a cross-section of society, and this private payer model severely risks the cost of care for those with insurance, never mind the access of quality care for those who have the most minimum means.

Our town leadership has extended an offer to explore dialog with Newport Academy regarding a commercial mixed-use for their treatment facility. Presumably this is not a viable opportunity for Newport Academy given this would likely change their potential revenue opportunity. Presumably it would also entail a longer-term investment and not the same real estate opportunity.

Tomorrow, Wednesday, March 4, represents on opportunity for our community to have a voice at the OHS certificate of need hearing. Yet, already, the state has deemed our voices not worthy of the equal platform that Newport Academy has been allowed to utilize.

The State of Connecticut OHS has rejected our neighborhood organization’s request to intervene in the proceedings and present months’ worth of medical research, healthcare economist’s reports, and legal research that we as an organization have compiled in hopes to demonstrate our position that the proposed facilities will impact the protections of group homes in our neighborhoods, jeopardize the delivery of quality mental health treatment, and adversely create greater risks than benefits to protected class members in our communities.

The State of Connecticut is seemingly placing the wellbeing of one protected class (recovering substance abuse users) against another (the intellectually and physically disabled).

How is this justice? How does this allow every member of the public equal protection of due process in administrative hearings when advocating for rights of those that do not have a voice?

The only tip on the scales of justice in this instance is the weight upon which the excessive legal fees being paid can favor the wealthy corporations over the fundraised dollars of tireless volunteers in a grass-roots effort who are working to advocate for the protected classes that already live in their communities.

Newport Academy’s attorney argues our work is evidence of "Not in My Back Yard" perspectives as unneighborly residents. If advocating for the rights of those who do not have a voice, if speaking up to protect their long-term residential protections, and requiring any entity to incorporate the needs of the most vulnerable members of our community into their insurance reimbursement structure is our neighborly identity ... then they’re right in identifying us as “neighbors.”

Let us neighbors officially say, welcome to Fairfield, a community of neighbors from all over town, from all walks of life, and all socio-economic fabrics who care enough to advocate, to protect our vulnerable neighbors who live here, and demand integrity from all who call this town "home" — regardless of which zone they try to use. In fact, you can be sure that themed housewarming invitation will be promptly forthcoming.

Yes, Mr. Allen ... we are the neighbors, and we hold those high expectations of community goodwill to any new neighbor who begins unpacking their moving trucks in Fairfield. Because we are neighbors who care, living in a town that cares. This is Fairfield, and we are proud to be among great neighbors.

We encourage the community to attend tomorrow’s CT OHS certificate of need hearing related to the Newport Academy proposed facilities at 1 p.m. at Fairfield University, 200 Barlow Road, Fairfield, in the Conference Center Dining Room (Wednesday, March 4).

Regardless of your perspective on this issue, please join us as a community as we listen, advocate, and share thoughts in a dignified and respectful manner.

Mr. Allen, we know it’s a long trip for you from Washington DC, along with the rest of the Carlyle attorneys and privately funded team of lobbyists, but we hope you will all join us too ... as a community public hearing requires advocacy on both sides — and we in Fairfield value fairness and diversity in opinion, despite what your statements have suggested.

Neighbors for Neighborhood Preservation