Some residents oppose halfway house

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - Some folks in west Mobile said they aren’t happy with a halfway house coming to the area.

Members of Solid Rock Church of God have rented out an entire apartment building and are converting it to a ministry just off of Tanner Williams Road.

But locals in the area are worried about the trouble it could bring the area.

Those involved with the project said the small apartment complex is getting a facelift and waiting on new tenants, courtesy of the area prisons.

Halfway House Administrator Jeff Shaw said, "God's given us a commission in His word to reach out to people that are hurting."

Church officials hope the halfway house will be completed by late October.

According to officials, they’ll accept inmates who are 90 days from parole, and rehabilitate them back to society.

Pastor Glenn Barnhill said inmates will be screened before they are accepted into the program.

Pastor Barnhill said, "They're pretty much a model inmate. And with a little more help, hopefully they'll come out and never go back to prison again."

But some neighbors don't like this plan.

An anonymous neighbor said, "I feel like the church could've found better ways to help the community instead of bringing that in."

The anonymous woman is afraid of accepting convicted criminals to this quiet neighborhood.

The woman said, "Where these people are coming from? What kind of backgrounds they have?"

Neighbor Cecil Forbes is concerned about property values.

Forbes said, "I think it's a bad idea. People around here got property and all. They won't be able to get nothin' for their property at all."

Barnhill said, "I would place more value on an individual than would a piece of property."

Barnhill said these inmates are returning to society whether the halfway house exists or not so he's hopeful this home can help them change for the better.

The pastor said the leases had run out for the tenants who lived there, so no one was kicked out of their apartment for this project.