Facility now for men only Highland House’s leadership says more men are on waiting list for services

BY DAN IRWIN

NEW CASTLE NEWS

Refinishing the wood floors and staircase. Applying a fresh coat of paint to the bedrooms. Constructing a new fire escape for the exterior.

All these changes have been going on this month at the Highland House. However, there is an even bigger one yet to come.

Since its 1992 founding, the 312 Highland Ave. facility has offered a residential treatment program for women transitioning from inpatient addiction recovery to independent living. Starting next week, however, Highland House will serve only men.

Director of operations Chris Dwyer said the switch is a response to changing demographics among those needing the halfway house’s program.

“The people that refer to us are in-patient facilities — Franklin, Butler, down to Allegheny County,” he said. “We have 18 beds, so we would call and say, ‘We have two open beds,’ and they would say, ‘All right, we’ll check and see who we have ready to go,’ and then they would refer them to us. Over the past — I guess since March — when we would call and say, ‘We have empty beds,’ their response was, ‘So do we.’ So we would call the next place and do the same thing. ‘No, we have empty beds.’ ”

Read More At New Castle News

This entry was posted in Highland House News. Bookmark the permalink.