DRUG TREATMENT CLINIC FACING MORE OBSTACLES

Newly constructed drywall divides up the one-time showroom at 12 E.
Washington St., but there's still lots of work to be done, and no one is
doing it.

And no one's getting methadone treatments there either.

The idea for a methadone clinic that Kendric Speagle sprang upon an
unwelcoming downtown community early this year remains only that. It
remains "a desperate need," says the executive director of the small
not-for-profit outreach program called Harm Reduction Resource.

The clinic that he had hoped to open this summer on the north edge of
downtown Champaign could still go there if a conflict with building owner
Leon Jeske is resolved, he said.

Meanwhile, Speagle is working on possible partnership arrangements with
Prairie Center for Substance Abuse or the Champaign-Urbana Public Health
District.

"It's still kind of up in the air with Leon," Speagle said Tuesday. "Leon
unfortunately violated his contract. We're attempting to determine whether
we can still make that a viable location. Things aren't looking good, but
I'm not willing to say we'll abort that idea altogether."

Jeske tells a different story. He said he won't rent to Speagle unless his
clinic is associated with an established organization such as the health
district.

"I told him if he gets the health department to lease with him, I'd borrow
the money and finish the remodeling," Jeske said. "But I'm tired of
waiting. I'm not going to put more of my money into it without any more of
a commitment."

Jeske said Speagle paid $6,000 in the early part of the year for a lease
from April through September. Jeske said the arrangement was that Jeske use
the money to remodel the space for Speagle's needs, then Speagle would pay
again in September, when he expected to receive another government grant.

"That space has been tied up for several months and I may have to tear out
what I've already done for another tenant," Jeske said.

Whatever happens with the space, Speagle's dedication to filling the need
for a methadone treatment center for local heroin addicts hasn't diminished.

Other service providers in the same arena, including the health district
and Prairie Center for Substance Abuse, say they're exploring methadone
treatment possibilities and credit Speagle with bringing the problem to
their attention.

Speagle has determined that there are about 40 local residents who drive
daily to Kankakee, Decatur or Springfield to obtain methadone treatments
that enable them to work and live otherwise normal lives free of heroin.

Currently, his agency is focused on finding drug users and providing them
social services, legal help and education about safe sex and needle use,
among other forms of assistance.

Speagle estimates there are 300 to 400 heroin users locally who could
benefit from methadone treatments, people who are endangering themselves
and others in the absence of treatment. He is passionate about their needs.

"I feel I'm battling single-handedly," he said. "All these other CEOs work
in nice air-conditioned offices. I'm out there on the streets every day
exchanging with drug users. I hear constantly from them, 'I have to do
something different. I have to make a change or I'm going to be dead in a
year.'"

"They live a hazardous lifestyle and can't do anything about it on their
own," Speagle said. "It's like hearing the cries of a baby and not be able
to do anything about it."

David King, executive director of the Champaign-Urbana Public Health
District, said the idea for a methadone clinic is being investigated by his
office. King and Speagle inspected the Washington Street space last week.

"Kendric provides a valuable service in reaching out to this population
through his research project," King said. "He's reached people we haven't
been able to."

The health department is overcrowded in its offices on North Neil and North
Randolph streets. Co-locating with Speagle would allow the department to
broaden educational efforts with people at risk of contracting and passing
diseases through needle use.

King believes there's a place for a methadone treatment program here.

"I think there has been a misunderstanding about what this is," he said.
"It's a medical, clinical service for addiction."

Likewise, Bruce Barnard, an associate director of Prairie Center, said his
board is exploring the possibilities.

"Our preference would be to work with a consortium of organizations to come
up with a plan," he said. "There may very well be a role for Speagle to play."

"But if we're going to do something in the community, we'll do it right,"
Barnard said. "Right now it's very preliminary."

Sandy Lewis, chief executive officer of Provena Behavioral Health, doesn't
dispute the need for methadone treatment but remains opposed to it being
placed in what she describes as a fragile neighborhood. Provena operates
Mental Health Center offices and the TIMES Center, also in downtown.

Downtown merchants and neighbors, already embittered over the presence of a
homeless shelter and an abundance of social service providers in the area,
were enraged at the prospect of a methadone treatment center. And the
opposition hasn't faded.

Not a bit, said Andrew Timms, president of the Champaign Downtown Association.

"I have to return to the fundamental we've pointed to all along, that Mr.
Speagle is not qualified to run this kind of operation," Timms said.

The association members and nearby commercial neighbors remain opposed, he
said. "But if it has to be in downtown, it should be responsibly run by
experienced people. I don't feel Mr. Speagle is qualified to do it.

"I'm going to be unpopular here, but I don't have compassion for people who
have to drive 1 1/2 hours a day for a habit. I have compassion for people
who have to drive 1 1/2 hours a day to go to a job to support their families."