SUBSTANCE ABUSE CENTER PLANNED FOR LEXINGTON

LEXINGTON -- A High Point agency plans to convert a former nursing home into
a center for substance abusers -- the first of its kind in Davidson County
when it opens next year.

The new facility will count as a neighbor "America's Toughest Sheriff,"
Gerald Hege.

Jason Yates, administrative assistant at Caring Services, met Tuesday with
Hege to make sure he wouldn't have concerns about the project locating next
to his home.

It doesn't bother him, Hege says.

Hege won't be an issue, but Caring Services has some hurdles to overcome
before it can convert the former nursing home, bought recently at an auction
for $140,000. The agency is seeking grants to repay the loan it used to make
the purchase.

The main issue is the building's failing septic tank. Sewer lines are a mile
from the property, so the agency is researching a variety of ways to pay the
cost of running lines to the building.

Caring Services won't let these loose ends get in the way of their new
center, Yates says: "We're taking a little bit of a chance. But when
opportunities present themselves and feel right, they usually work out. I
think it's something divine."

The agency has operated a transitional housing program in High Point since
1994. The program allows men who have gone through detoxification programs
to live temporarily in an environment where they can receive help
transitioning back into productive lives.

The center planned for Lexington also will offer transitional housing, but
it will be different from Caring Services' location in High Point: it will
offer detoxification as well as transitional housing, and it will have about
25 spaces for women.

Caring Services plans to make the center available to several counties south
of Guilford, many of which contract with Guilford because they do not have
their own residential programs or enough room in them to meet demand.

At least 100 people in Davidson County require transitional housing each
year, said Bill Herr, director of substance abuse services for Davidson
County Mental Health.

"Transitional living for recovering people is few and far between and always
full with a waiting list," Herr said. "We have no transitional living for
substance abusers in our county, so the kind of facility they're (Caring
Services) planning is very much needed."