More information on last Monday's Parrot Cove Neighborhood meeting on sober homes

To learn more about Parrot Cove use this link.

The level of interest in this subject is tremendously high. For example, this is the notice I posted on the blog that very morning. Within a short time the blog traffic was off the charts and continued for the balance of the day.

I was unable to attend the meeting but received updates from citizen/reporters that the attendance was high and everyone was pleased with the information given out and the political backing to get solutions to the problem many neighborhoods face.

A view of the crowd. Speaking are State Sen. Clemens and Commissioner Shanon Materio.

Below are notes taken by Deb Null, the Secretary of Parrot Cove, unapproved minutes of the meeting. When these minutes become official will provide a link. Here are very important takeaways:

The sober home tip line by State Attorney Dave Aronberg is 844-324-5463. Neighbors should call tip line for advice and to report issues.

What can we do? If a sober home is a nuisance call PBSO. If anything is suspicious make the call. They have to follow the code and the law. Find out who the owner is and be a nuisance to that owner.

A grassroots effort is needed to inform parents that are sending their children here. Money and greed is the problem. Good operators want to be in the company of other good operators. Parents need to look for sober homes with good credentials.

Representative Bill Hager was unable to attend but will be rescheduled to speak at a later date. State Attorney David Aronberg, Senator Jeff Clemens, Congresswoman Lois Frankel, Commissioner Shanon Materio and Commissioner Andy Amoroso have all been working on this issue. State Attorney Aronberg has put together a task to work on legislation to monitor sober homes.

Sober homes cannot provide medical treatment. Insurance companies are not allowed to share information on a person in treatment. Congresswoman Frankel is working with the Dept. of Justice to change the rules. Sober homes and addicts come under the ADA. At this point hands are tied. The Dept. of Health cannot monitor sober homes.

Vans driving around are often these residents being driven to testing sites and treatment. If they test positive they can be thrown out of the sober home. The problem is they are often put out with little resources and families are not notified. Many are run just for profit. The "bad homes" will not try to get certified.

Attorneys representing sober homes and insurance companies are on the task force. The next meetings are August 8th and 9th at 2:00 pm at the West Palm Beach police station. Meetings are open to the public but you may not speak.

Property values made it very appealing to the sober home buyers as well as the number of treatments centers in the area. One of the appeals is the weather. WPB has 47 registered sober homes. Three or more unrelated people living in a home has to have a rental license. The problem is they don't tell the truth and if code is called consent is needed to enter.

Stay tuned for more information on what's being done to solve this problem.

It's vitally important to attend public meetings and also to get the word out on what is being done to solve the sober home problem. Please share this information with those in your community. Thank you Deb Null for the notes and to our good friends at Parrot Cove for all your hard work.