Our community had an amazing opportunity to directly help our own residents and those from surrounding communities recovering from alcohol and drug abuse. But rather than support Trinity Sober Living homes , the Hinsdale Village Board has fought for over three years and spent over $1.5 million in legal fees to prevent Trinity from owning a home in Hinsdale. Per Michael Owens, executive director of Trinity Sober living, the audience served is private pay and 90 percent of its clients live within 10 miles of the home.
More than just an opportunity to help those in our area recovering from addiction, this is an ideal way to teach our children about real tangible giving and caring. This is not dropping a dollar in a Salvation Army bucket or leaving a toy at a distribution center. This is seeing, interacting and helping our neighbors in need. Why is the village board so opposed? Hinsdale and its citizens are clearly a charitable group — we have a food bank and we hold numerous charity events for many causes. I can only surmise the board is embarrassed to recognize this is a local issue and would rather spend over a million dollars to push these recovering neighbors away, out of sight, rather than support them. Shame on you. — Jim Wagoner, Hinsdale
