Kimber-Clifford Beers Resilience Academy” Would Replace Methadone Clinic Plan

Laura Glesby Photo

February community rally against planned methadone clinic.

(Updated) A former school building on Dixwell Avenue might become a wellness-focused Resilience Academy” rather than a community-opposed methadone clinic under a plan under consideration for millions of state bonding dollars.

That’s the latest development in the saga of 794 Dixwell Ave.

The APT Foundation bought that vacant two-story brick building, which formerly housed a charter school, on Dec. 14 for $2.45 million, without notifying Newhallville residents, with plans to transform it into offices, a primary care facility, and a methadone clinic. The foundation’s plans have garnered widespread pushback from neighborhood residents, who formed a group called Newhallville-Hamden Strong to mobilize against the government approvals that APT would need in order to create a methadone clinic at that site.

Now APT is speaking with a potential buyer with a different plan for the building — and with support of politicians to get extensive state help.

That buyer is a partnership between Clifford Beers Guidance Clinic, the mental-health agency, and the Rev. Boise Kimber of Newhallville’s First Calvary Baptist Church.

Kimber has been rounding up support from politicians and state officials for $2 million in bonding to help the partnership purchase the building and open what it’s billing as Connecticut’s first trauma-informed community wellness and education center focused on youth and families.”

The center would be called The Resilience Academy.” According to a proposal sent to gubernatorial Chief of Staff Paul Mounds — with support cited from state legislators — the academy will host early childhood services, mental health programs, after school, and community health and prevention activities.

In addition, within the next three years, we will explore the addition of a therapeutic school for underserved students,” the proposal adds. Click here to read the full proposal.

The proposal is signed by Clifford Beers CEO Alice Forrester and Rev. Kimber.

Thomas Breen file photo

APT‘s Lynn Madden (right) at a 2018 neighborhood management team meeting.

The two appeared Tuesday night at the Zoom-held monthly meeting of the Newhallville Community Management Team. Kimber presented the plan as also including a charter school, an idea he has pursued in the past. (The written proposal does not include mention of a charter school.) The management team responded positively to the presentation.

APT Foundation would first have to agree to sell the building, of course.

It is open to the idea, according to APT Foundation President and CEO Lynn Madden.

But no agreement has been reached, she told the Independent Wednesday.

I had a preliminary conversation with Rev. Kimber” about it, she stated. 

I think that selling the property might be part of a potential reasonable solution that includes also finding a location for APT to relocate,” Madden stated.

We want to be sensitive to the needs of the community, so we are considering and are working with the city in a reasonable approach to locating drug treatment services.”

At Tuesday night’s Newhallville Community Management Team meeting, Kimber told neighbors, We felt that both the school and Clifford Beers would work together to deal with some of the issues that our young men had.”

Forrester compared the plan to New York City’s community school” model of providing before- and after-school programs and social services for children and families affiliated with the school.

The model of mental health care — one hour of therapy in the office — doesn’t work during Covid,” Forrester said. Establishing a wellness center” in the school would be one way of reaching kids and families directly where they are.

Rev. Boise Kimber, Clifford Beers' Alice Forrester at Tuesday evening's Zoom meeting with Newhallville neighbors.

Kimber sparked controversy in 2017 when he proposed a new all-boys charter school in New Haven overseen by the New Haven Board of Education, seeking municipal supervision over the school. The plan stalled when then-student representative Coral Ortiz noticed that Kimber was advertising for the school before it had been approved, and others questioned the need or reason for it to be set up as a charter school. (Click here to read and here to listen to an interview Kimber did at the time responding to those questions.)

Now, rather than going through the city’s Board of Ed, Kimber said he is applying for state money to fund the school. He said the APT Foundation has not returned his calls about whether they would be willing to sell the building. 

Attendees at the online CMT meeting Tuesday night responded favorably to Kimber’s proposal.

Our Black boys need this, especially mental health services because they’re experiencing so much trauma,” wrote Chanelle Goldson in the Zoom chat.

The biggest piece is the respect that has been rendered to Newhallville by coming to us and talking about what you wanted to do,” said management team Chair Kim Harris. We didn’t have that opportunity with the APT Foundation. We thank you for doing that in consideration with us.”

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