JENNIFER HOUSE FOUNDER CRITICIZED

Former Board Members Question Leadership

Jennifer House, a new halfway facility for women recovering from alcoholism
and substance abuse, is on track to have residents at its 1125 Allen St.
location in 30 to 60 days, organizers say, but two former board members who
resigned just days before its open house are concerned about the leadership
of its founder.

"I still support the concept of transitional housing for recovering
addicts, and I still would be willing to serve on the board, but not with
Jeanne Owers as chairman," former treasurer Danny Maglinger said in an
interview Wednesday.

Maglinger and Allison Migdall, who was a fund-raiser for the organization,
say they resigned primarily because Owers would not allow the board to do
its job.

"We're a new organization and will make mistakes as we go along," Owers
said last week. "Our desire is to have a viable house and take baby steps
in the beginning."

Another board member, Martha Crabtree, a certified alcohol/drug counselor,
also resigned but did not return a reporter's calls.

Maglinger, an accountantant with Hayden Construction, said at least 25
people have served on Jennifer House's board since it was organized about
three years ago, and several left because of Owers' leadership and
unwillingness to let the board do its job setting and overseeing policy for
the house. He said Owers has appointed and removed board members without
board approval.

Migdall, the office manager for Alcoholics Anonymous, said she wants
Jennifer House to succeed. "I want it so bad for this community because
there is such a need, but I couldn't continue to serve when she (Owers)
won't let the board do its job."

Both Midgall and Maglinger said the board voted not to accept a $25,000
grant/loan from Building Resources in Central Kentucky, a non-profit
housing association in Lexington. The funds were offered through Kentucky
Housing Corp.'s Nonprofit Housing Production Repair program.

Maglinger wanted the organization to pursue other funding sources that
could be used for start-up expenses and that did not have strings attached.
The grant/loan agreement the board reviewed stated the money must be used
for acquisition, construction, rehabilitation and financing of
transitional, rental or homeownership housing units for lower-income persons.

Ann Halloran, a grant writer from Lexington who delivered the grant/loan
check to Owers during the open house, said she understood there were two
board members who voted no on accepting the funds, but it was approved. The
agreement, she said, was amended to allow Jennifer House to use the money
for start-up expenses.

"This is the safest loan they could have -- it's virtually no strings
attached," Halloran said. They must provide three affordable housing units
for women recovering from substance abuse, she said. "KHC has never
foreclosed on a loan without first providing technical assistance, and this
is the lowest possible interest rate at 1 percent."

Halloran started Phoenix House in Bowling Green and has assisted with other
halfway houses in Lexington. She also serves as consultant and fund-raiser.

"I've seen this kind of activity before," Halloran said. "It's a perfect
example of how non-profit boards are formed and have to find their way.
I've advised them to stay on track and follow their mission."

Halloran said she regrets that Maglinger clearly has an agenda, but she's
unsure what it is.

"There's always someone who wants to be in control, and maybe that's what
happened -- he found out he couldn't control things."

Being concerned about debt is healthy, Halloran said, but borrowing money
is often necessary to start programs.

Maglinger said he had no motives in joining the board except to try to open
a house for recovering women. "I put in a lot of time and personal
resources during my tenure with Jennifer House. I left the board because I
couldn't continue to be a rubber stamp for the board president's actions,"
he said.

He said he asked Owers if she would step down if the board took steps to
remove her and she said she would not. "She said it was her house and she
wouldn't let the board go off on its own."

One fear Maglinger expressed was that the house would open without adequate
resources to ensure continuing operations and then be forced to close.

Owers said Friday the board has six of its nine positions filled and
expects to approve three new ones at its next meeting. She declined to name
them, but she did say that Halloran is a board member.

Halloran said she is not on the board now but served on it in the past.

Owers also said she plans to ask the board to change the bylaws to allow 12
members of the board. She said the group has not had any more problems in
retaining board members than any other board. Members have moved and others
have decided they couldn't commit their time.

She also said that every member since the initial board was formed has been
voted on by the board.

"We expect to meet our budget through funds the residents pay, local
fund-raising, requests to foundations and a number of other sources
available to any non-profit organization," Owers said.

The organization has had a shaky start. Jennifer House and the Lexington
Fair Housing Council sued the city and the Owensboro Metropolitan Board of
Adjustment, claiming discrimination after the board of adjustment denied
the facility a conditional use permit to operate.

That suit was settled in June in an out-of-court agreement in which
Jennifer House received $125,000 and the permit to operate at 1125 Allen St.