DRUG REHAB PROGRAM'S BUILDING SHUT DOWN

Citing "extremely hazardous" building and housing violations, the Cleveland
Fire Department closed a building in the St. Clair-Superior neighborhood
yesterday that housed El Fuente de Esperanza, a social service agency
operating a drug and alcohol rehabilitation program.

The action came just days after Councilman Joe Cimperman complained that
people in the program were mistreated.

Fire Chief Kevin Gerrity ordered El Fuente de Esperanza (Fountain of Hope)
to vacate the building it owns at 7403-05 St. Clair Ave. until the
violations are corrected. He said in a news release that the unsafe
conditions included overcrowding and a lack of required sprinklers and
smoke detectors. Fire and housing inspectors also found "deficient and
dangerous" electrical and heating systems.

Saul Ramos, an official with the treatment program, said that the 60
participants, many of whom had moved from Puerto Rico to Cleveland for
treatment, had been placed in other programs run by churches and social
service groups.

Cimperman notified city officials this week that El Fuente de Esperanza was
running a drug rehabilitation program that was allegedly substandard. The
program is not in his ward, but he said he was motivated to do something
after speaking with men in the program who said they had been mistreated.

"They were basically prisoners," said Cimperman. "The men never received
the money their families sent them. They were starved on Wednesday. No food
was served."

Ramos said Cimperman's allegations are untrue. Ramos said there was a
direct relationship between Cimperman's allegations and the city's decision
to close the building.

"We knew about the violations, and the city was letting us fix them as the
money came in," Ramos said. "After the councilman made his allegations, the
city decided to close us down."

The building is in Councilman Bill Patmon's ward. He said he was aware of
the allegations but wanted to investigate them first before taking action.