actually momof 5 he was 15 years old, when he was sentenced to 4 years in prison,he was not a druggie nor did he commit a heinous crime,i would like to tell you the story but you seem to be judgemental and then his privacy would not be protected.he was a very troubled young man and that was the only way they knew how to deal with him.they figured if they just got rid of him then they didnt have to deal with him anymore.hes doing real well at this time, and i hope his progress continues,you dont lock up people with mental disabilities.now you have a nice day and i hope your brother in law gets the help he needs.

melstew: My brother-in-law got 20 years for a parole violation. He's a druggie and had already gotten "clean" multiple times. He'll have plenty of time to kick the habit this time around. And, he'd be the same type to be inhabitating the homeless shelters. Your "idea" is not as grand as you make it out to be!
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I highly doubt your son got 4 years for some frivilous infraction. He probably had it coming, sadly.

Food for thought: No matter how well meaning or how well deserving a served population, any institution that evades the law (zoning, fair housing, residential treatment, employment, and more) that ALL other secular organizations and citizens are obliged to obey sets a very poor example to those whom they're trying to reform and reintegrate so, in the end, someday those residents will obey those very same laws. Can anyone say h-y-p-o-c-r-i-s-y?

I have witnessed how difficult returning to a "normal" life from prison, can be. Even for the strongest, with NO drug addicitions and a support network behind them, the reintegration into society and relearning to how maintain a normal daily schedule and be responsible for minimal life skills is a challenge for ex-inmates. I applaud this organization for helping provide these individuals with a better chance at success. Put it this way, if she succeeds, it's one less prisoner I am paying taxes for, one less child(her child) that is in the welfare system(and living off of our tax dollars), its a stepping stone to something bettger. If even half of our ex-inmate population had the support of a program like this, we might start to see our prison populations decline, as less offenders would be reincarcerated on technical violations of their release(i.e. lack of employment, lack of adequate shelter, etc). Perhaps this is the one push they need to help them recover from their addiction and become law-abiding citizens. And most programs like this are strict. If you mess up, you're out. We'll give you the tools you'll need to succeed but we will NOT do it for you. They still have to work for recovery, rehabilitation, reintegration. We're just not making it more difficult for them by throwing them back out on the street with nothing. Think about it people, this is the stability and an investment of our community's future! I would much rather know that people who are going to be released to my community regardless have a stable and structured environment to transition into/from than nothing at all!

:)!!!

And, as a previous post said, who cares where the house is? Your neighbors may be doing worse things already. At least these women are trying to get better.

I have had the opportunity to meet this woman and I see her almost every day. I have not been where she has and can only say that for several months, I have seen the power of a spiritual program for addictions help her grow. She smiles now. Don't we all want people to come out better? I would welcome her and many others from ALCO Care and AA into my home. With true support and guidance, people can change.

Property ownership laws and regulation of facilities for at-risk populations in the United States were established to give opportunity and equality for all under the Constitution. As long as established religious entities - and some established only for the purpose of "helping" - insist on having special and extraordinary property and licensing rights, they will continue to generate a backlash not for what they're doing nor for whom they're serving but for how they're doing it.

Take a look at the area this home is in, this house IMPROVES the area. The owner has donated the house and everything in it was donated. Why can't you (negative) people ever be for something that is good in your community? Just wait, what goes around comes around. Someday when you're down and out others just like you will say you don't deserve a second chance, you are where you are and that's your tough luck!

proartist: How many more organizations will you chase out of your courthouse neighborhood?

I'm curious if ALL the neighbors know about this, and what they think.

Geez....have any of you negative folks ever made a bad choice? gotten a second chance? If we want to keep people from returning to prison they need opportunities to suceed... this is not costing taxpayers any money. Not only would i let these people in my home i would reach out to get them a job and legitimate income so they can move forward. This is the major problem with our system, punishment does not get a person a job or a place to live it breeds more criminal behavior, lower self worth and higher recidivism rates.
I have worked with recovering addicts and those out of prison, as a counselor, the number one reason for going back out is they CANT find a job or a place to give them a chance to make an honest living.
Do some go back out? YES. Is there a risk? YES. Does each and every person deserve a chance to prove they have changed? YES. And if given a chance then resume their past behavior I am all for re-entry to prison... I for one would volunteer to help these ladies practice for job interviews, dress for a job and listen to their concerns. Thank you to Lighthouse for providing a needed service in our Community!

I find it hilarious that everyone is still using the "not in my neighborhood" mentality. With the current Herion problems, it is in everyone's neighborhood!

Good luck to everyone involved in this, especially the women who have such a long road ahead of them.

Forget about what is legal and what isn't. Can you just look at the big picture? Sometimes doing something to help others should be more important. Move on.

The issue is not a specific religion. Not a specific charitable effort. Not a given at-risk population being served. The issue is ZONING compliance and affording ONLY a specific type of organization (religious-based) the ability to evade the law that ALL others must obey. Neutral zoning laws are just as much a religious landowner's responsibility as any other landowner because land use inescapably affects neighbors, the community and the state. Zoning and land-use laws exist to minimize the negative effects of any landowner's use of their property. Sadly, because of R.L.U.I.P.A. (Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act), what is at issue here is the fact a religiously-based entity - and some commenting here - inject the premise of bigotry where none exists simply because the Lighthouse operation chooses not to follow the same law secular property owners must. It's no wonder that divisive religious discord is being spread throughout the Gazette's website, Janesville, and even the nation when there's the notion that the property rights of religious endeavors can have a PREFERENTIAL, separate, and not equal, level of property rights. Real property is real property no matter whether the neighbor is simply residential housing, having a Mary Kay party, providing child care services, or holding prayer sessions. A group home by any other name is a multiple-residential facility for an at-risk population and it will impact a neighborhood in ways otherwise not legal under zoning, property and institutional law.

There are two groups of people in Jville: those who don't think people should get a 2nd chance, and those that think a 2nd chance is good as long as it isn't happening in their neighborhood.

If they can do some good for these women and help them get their act together and be contributing citizens what's the problem?? I say kudos to this organization for taking on this task. Sannio and proartist you need to chill and stop critisizing every christian based thing, They sound like they really want to help these girls, what have you done to give back?? Just because it's christian based doesn't mean it wont succeed, have you ever heard of Teen Challenge or talked to anyone from there? They have like a 95% or so success rate. Unless you want to open up your own facility and help someone, save your negative comments!

But, oh ya, having a new ice arena and a liquor license is much more worth funding. Unbelievable!!

Sannio, heaven FORBID they have to attend church!! We wouldn't want God to help turn these women around!! This is a Christian based organization and the women go there VOLUNTARILY, if they don't want to follow one painless rule then they can leave. I would think that going to church would be a lot better than going back to jail or prison or sticking needles in their bodies.
Spikesmom hit the nail on the head, people just can't stand the thought of another Christan based ministry in your town.

melstew47... You crack me up ? You complain that your son got 4 years for "probation violation".... The way I see it is he had already gotten a break from whatever crime he did in the first place and was put on probation for it.Then for whatever he did they revoked his probation,this is the same to you why?

I was going to post some more thoughts but have decided against it. I don't want to further upset the people living here in Judgmentalville.

biggirl: Would you feel that way if she'd broken into YOUR home, repeatedly, stolen all your jewelry, cash, checks, credit cards and other valuables, damaged other stuff, generally made a big mess, and perhaps left the door wide open and your cat is now missing? Just wondering.

"women will be expected to attend a church of their choice and to attend bible study classes at The Lighthouse." That is no less than taking advantage of people who are in need, and is usually illegal. This is disgraceful, and I can see why they wouldn't want to publish the address.

What a waste of money that we had to spend any money on this woman. She should have been given treatment, psychological and other, and retraining, etc. rather than being incarcerated. Our laws are insanely punitive.

The article didn't say the Gazette doesn't know the location of the Lighthouse, they simply chose not to publish that information in this article.

Kudos to this organization and homeowner for such a program. Does this mean that I wouldn't be nervous having such a place in my neighborhood? No. Do these ladies deserve another chance to get back on track? Yes.

well im glad you feel that way,so you wont mind them all coming to your house to stay and i dont just mean these ladies,i mean all ex-cons lol. ya i didnt think so.

people try to help and people try to better themselves and you people can't do anything but complain!! Good Luck ladies!!

What do you people want? All over these blogs people are complaining about ice arenas, parking lots and now a home that is trying to help people turn their lives around. I do not speak from experience, but doesn't it make sense that in order to keep these women from re-offending, they need to feel like useful members of society? If their own town can't give it to them, who will. I applaud this organization for stepping up and trying to make a difference. Is is because it's Christian based? Or don't ex-cons deserve to get the help they need?

first of all i dont see anything about mexico.i see its based in tecate california.An wow robbery and shes out already! they gave my son 4 years for a probation violation.Hmmm.for most of these crack heads they need to be locked up for 5or6 years to clean them up.An if treatment centers and aoda worked there wouldnt be any users and abusers would there? they should have donated for another homeless shelter or to the one that we have already in serious need.remember what was said she was out 3 weeks and used.Good luck with this one youre going to need it.

If Lighthouse weren't anticipating trouble (from various possible situations and scenarios), then why keep the location a secret from the Gazette? Why a California address for donations to a mission whose main focus is Mexico? If this were a valid, professional, licensed, reputable, or secularly-based transitional living situation, the operations would have to be licensed by the State of Wisconsin but, wait, under state law it's too close to other group homes to have that status! Just because there's a requirement of residents to participate in Christian Bible study (thus violating H.U.D. Fair Housing Regs) doesn't mean questions shouldn't be asked. Just because some view any religious project is far morally superior to any valid neighbor concerns, they apparently feel justified to have a status above federal, state, and local zoning regulations. Just because yet another group home is based in a downtown vicinity where there is already a proliferation of unlicensed and unregulated groups homes doesn't mean the rest of the city residents can relax that is not THEIR neighborhood. It's Constitutionally and fundamentally unfair to have all secular business and citizen-owned residential property owners required to obey laws that so-called religious groups can pick and choose to obey at will. BTW: The Gazette could have easily found the address of this facility at: http://thelighthousejanesville.blogspot....