Community Healthlink ("CHL"), a member of the UMass Memorial Health Care, is attempting to open a center for rehabilitation for addictive boys from the ages of 13-17 years of age, in a residential area in the west side of Worcester; closed by residents of families with young children and to middle school and elementary schools. CHL is manipulating the Dover Act (MGL ch. 40 Sec. 3) by claiming that their program is for "educational purpose", in order to become exempt from the zoning ordinances established by the city of Worcester. Instead, it is a program focusing on assessment and prevention skills, which is not what the statute intended for educational purpose to be. As parents, taxpayers and concerned citizens of Worcester, we feel that although, we consider CHL's purpose to be an altruistic one, we also feel that our children also deserve to be in a safe and nurturing neighborhood. This court committed program is intended as a last resource for these juvenile to escape the strict rules proscribed by law prior to entering detention facilities, which have been known to be inefficient in assisting these minors. By signing this petition you will help our community from allowing these types of programs from disguising their purpose in our community in order to benefit from the Dover Act, by pretending to be an educational program instead of a preventive one.
Why is this important?
I am a concerned neighbor and a parent, who strongly believes that CHL's purposes will cause harmful effects to our community. This is a volunteer program for addictive juveniles and as addicts they could leave at their leisure and may cause trouble to our community in order to satisfy their addiction. As I imagine, this is not a problem that anyone would like to envision in their own community and that is why I seek your support.
