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Halfway house for Amarillo

by Larry Lemmons
NewsChannel 10

Amarillo, Texas - It's official. A halfway house for ex-prisoners will be established in southeast Amarillo.  That's a first for the city.

Why not till now? The fact is people don't want a halfway house near them. Former male and female inmates in the house will have been in jail on drug-related charges. Two previous local attempts near residential areas went down in flames. This location is west of the loop on third.

The view the 54 residents at the Plainview Serenity halfway house will have out their north windows is that of a railroad and grain silo.

Plainview Serenity was originally destined for Plainview. They didn't want it.

Director Paul Walker says, "I operate an alcohol and drug treatment center in Plainview Texas. It's a 24 bed male residential. We tried to place a transitional treatment center there in Plainview. It failed considerably. We had two public hearings and our citizens just didn't want it."

But halfway houses in Lubbock and Odessa are constantly under stress. Local drug rehab programs like the idea of a local house.

Treste Shaw of the Amarillo Council on Alcoholism says, "People coming out of the prison population really need a safe place to go. A lot of times they don't have family support and even their families aren't the safest place to go."

Potter County Commissioner Alphonso Vaughn fought hard for it."I think it's going to be a win/win for this area."

And the City Commission quickly approved it. Commissioner Jim Simms says, "I wish we didn't have to have them but we do."

But law enforcement says they'll keep a close watch on the facility. Chief Roger Short says, "We're aware it's going to be there and our officers are going to be ready if and when there are problems. And we'll address them as they come."

It should be up and running by August first.