AUSTINTOWN — Some Austintown residents have voiced objection to a proposed drug-treatment facility in Austintown Plaza.

A letter has been circulated around the community, on social media and to local media outlets, objecting to a medication-assisted treatment facility in the JCPenney building, next door to Buffalo Wild Wings, in the 9,000-square-foot space where Plaza Optical was.

“One of the functions proposed there is to dispense opioid treatment medications as part of their overall behavioral healthcare and clinical treatment programs,” Austintown Zoning Inspector Darren Crivelli said.

Crivelli said he has not issued a zoning permit for the business yet and it is just one of the proposals he has seen for that space.

He said the building is owned by Joe Anthony of A2Z Real Estate in Legonier, Pa. The company proposing the treatment facility is Concerted Care Group of Burtonsville, Maryland.

According to its website, the company offers drug-assisted substance abuse treatment — using FDA-approved treatments like suboxone, Vivitrol and methadone — as well as inpatient and outpatient medical and mental health services, including individual and group therapy and intensive psychiatric treatment.

Concerted Care operates facilities in Baltimore, Brooklyn, Frederick, and Elkton, Maryland. It is also opening facilities in Hagerstown and Cumberland as well as Fredericksburg, Virginia, and Dover, Delaware.

The unsigned letter acknowledges the need for such facilities, but objects to them being “within such close proximity to residential homes and businesses geared toward families and children.”

“If you’re slightly concerned about letting your kids ride their bikes up to the plaza or [other nearby businesses] in the summer … next to the traffic of a methadone clinic, or worry this out-of-state business has little interest in the residential area nearby, please consider voicing your opinion.”

The letter encourages readers to attend the next township trustees meeting April 1.

Crivelli said he is considering permits for multiple businesses in the 87,000-square-foot building, including for a Five Below store in the southwest section of the building.

Anthony and Concerted Care’s VP for Real Estate, Alvin Nichols, did not return calls for comment Tuesday.

Brenda Heidinger, associate director of Mahoning County Mental Health and Recovery Board, said all such facilities in Ohio are licensed as Opioid Treatment Programs.

“There’s a wide variety of services they offer in addition to seeing a physician and utilizing medication to help a person manage those cravings and participate in group and talk therapy and find recovery,” she said.

The facilities use many different types of medications to fit the varying needs of their patients. Some may find it more convenient to use a monthly injection like Vivitrol or Subutex, while others may be ready to commit to a daily medication like suboxone.

Methadone and Subutex are most commonly given to pregnant patients because they do not harm the fetus.

“Doctors need those options,” Heidinger said. “You have to have the conversations about what’s going to work for the patient. Having that variety gives them more ways to treat it.”

Heidinger said she understands that drug treatment facilities and their patients carry stigma, but that people are only willing to go so far from their home for treatment and having a facility close by increases their chances of successfully overcoming their addiction.

“I’ve been in this system for 21 years. I’ve seen that the stigma has lessened, but the only way I’ve seen that is through education and people knowing others who have this problem,” she said. “When you have agencies that do this kind of treatment in a community, these are the people who are seeking help, who are actually trying to get better.”

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