Agency asks court to close House of Hope

Staff report

NILES

The best solution for House of Hope clients and the community is to bring the adult-care facility into compliance, said Lisa Solley of the Area Agency on Aging 11.

The Ohio Department of Health has asked Mahoning County Common Pleas Court to close the facility at 115 Illinois Ave., formerly known as Bryson Manor.

As a result, the Area Agency on Aging is working with consumers living at House of Hope to advise them of their housing options should House of Hope’s license to operate as a residential-care facility be revoked.

The problems in relocating residents are numerous, Solley said.

One, she said, there may not be enough beds in the four counties served by agency — Trumbull, Mahoning, Columbiana and Ashtabula — to house House of Hope residents should the facility be closed.

Also, she said clients have choices as to where they live, and they could choose to live on the street.

Further, facilities such as House of Hope are under the same regulations as are assisted-living facilities, meaning they can refuse clients.

“The agency realizes this is a complex issue because it involves caring for some of the most vulnerable citizens in the community,” said Solley, the agency’s chief of community relations, wellness and training. “That care includes an individual’s right to choose where to live, agencies’ obligations to provide services and oversight of care; a provider’s responsibility to ensure a safe environment and the ODH’s obligation to monitor the safety of those facilities.”

Mental health and Area Agency on Aging case workers and are trying desperately to find places.

“We’re talking to facilities in the counties we serve, and we can also go outside that area to anywhere in the state,” Solley said.

But, many of the House of Hope residents have lived there for years and to them it is home. They may not want to move, she said.

“It’s important for everyone at this point to look for solutions and wrap some services around the House of Hope residents,” Solley said.