Members of Hattiesburg City Council have voted to table an item regarding zoning that would allow the operation of a men’s shelter off Broadway Drive in Hattiesburg.
That decision was made at the January 2 board meeting, when council decided to postpone the item until its next meeting to give the council more time to pore over information provided to them by the Hattiesburg Planning Commission on the facility, which would be known as The Cottages and me managed by Lighthouse Rescue Mission. Currently, the use of a “group home” is not allowed at that site, so a reclassification would be necessary in order to open the shelter.
“We just (wanted more) time to digest the information that we had received,” Ward 4 Councilman Dave Ware said. “The planning division had given us their thought process and how we had arrived at the determination of what the use of that building was going to be.
“A ‘group home’ is probably about the best use of that building, which is currently not really allowed there. So we want to make sure that we really take time to look at this from all angles and do what’s best for the community.”
Purvis attorney Douglas Miller, who is representing site owner Ken Thronson – who also serves as director of Lighthouse Rescue Mission – recently filed an appeal with the city to change the site’s designation to allow a rehabilitation center at that location, which is currently zoned as B-5.
“If you consider the (North American Industry Classification System) rehabilitation facility (description), you will find residential mental health and substance abuse facilities, which I would submit Lighthouse Rescue Mission is,” Miller’s appeal states.
The Cottages would serve as a ministry that would offer rehabilitation for men battling addiction and homelessness. The facility also would provide job training for men housed at the site.
According to www.lighthouserescuemission.org, 1 in 14 adults – primarily men – use hallucinogenic drugs. In addition, one in 17 use cocaine, one in 18 misuse opioids and Fentanyl overdose is now the leading cause of death among Americans ages 18 to 45.
“They’re saying that they are actually a rehabilitation center that would be for drug, alcohol, rehab,” Ware said. “But on part of their application, it appears that they identified themselves as a group home.
“So we have to think about what’s right for the community and what’s best for that location – and frankly, what does the law say about it? So that’s what we’re really looking at, is the use in that area versus not being able to be located there because of (current guidelines). The main question is, is it a group home that they’re looking to place there, or is it a recovery center?”
For more information on the ministry, call (601) 544-2169, email thelighthousems@gmail.com, visit www.lighthouserescuemission.org/mens-ministry or go to the Lighthouse Rescue Mission Facebook page.
