Along a winding road not far from Deloraine lies Meander, the rural town at the heart of a dispute over the future use of its defunct primary school.
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The community has been left divided after the Meander Valley Council chose to endorse a proposal from Teen Challenge Tasmania to establish a residential rehabilitation centre for women and their children at the town.
History: Meander Primary School closed voluntarily at the end of the 2014 school year after enrolments dwindled to fewer than 20 for the following school year. The state government offered the site to the council in 2015 with the stipulation that the site must not be used for commercial enterprises.
After the council closed the Expressions of Interest period, a public meeting was called to allow feedback, conversation and questions about three proposals.
Eventually the community were left with two choices, Teen Challenge’s Home of Hope and The Butterfly House Rehabilitation Centre. In May the council engaged the Institute of Project Management (IPM) to deliver a survey to residents and business owners at Meander and Jackeys Marsh, to gain verifiable data on community sentiment regarding the use of the Meander School site.
The results of the poll determined that it could not “be said to represent a ringing endorsement of either option presented”.
“Although half of all respondents said they preferred Teen Challenge, only 36 per cent of respondents considered it would be good for the community, while 40 per cent thought it would have a bad impact,” the survey said.
Of the 138 people surveyed, only one supported Butterfly House, while five could not choose and 63 people did not support either proposal.
In June a motion to decline taking ownership of the Meander School site and recommend that the Education Department broaden its terms of reference for prospective occupants to include commercial enterprises, failed.
Instead, at a vote of 5 to 4, the council endorsed Teen Challenge as the preferred tenant for the school site with a lease of five years.
Teen Challenge: Rebecca* lived in Launceston for 23 years, but recently spent time in a drug and rehabilitation facility operated by faith-based organisation Teen Challenge Western Australia.
“Both my parents were heroin addicts, while my dad did a runner only never to return, my mum tried her best to lock herself away in a caravan and go cold turkey,” she said. “This resulted in me being born with serious withdrawals that caused a lifetime of disabilities.”
Rebecca was addicted to marijuana for 10 years, and said she could not stress profoundly enough the lack of resources for women like her.
“The only choice I really had was to leave my children in the care of close relatives while I flew over to WA for four months, four months that have completely turned my life and that of my children around,” she said.
Teen Challenge Tasmania executive director Tanya Cavanagh said Rebecca’s story is not an isolated incident.
She believes the global Christian organisation can help Tasmanian women undertaking the 12 month residential program to not just beat their addictions but to become empowered within a therapeutic community.
She said Teen Challenge began in 1958 and now runs more than 1200 centres in 109 countries.
While Home of Hope will be autonomous in the day-to-day administration of the site, the 12 bed facility will use the global Teen Challenge curriculum due to the program's success rate of between 70 and 86 per cent.
Community Concern: In early August the Meander Area Residents and Ratepayers Association (MARRA) was formed. Spokeswoman Bodhi McSweeney said the community had numerous concerns about Teen Challenge’s proposal and the council’s selection process.
Concerns range from the lack of a risk assessment, to security issues if a former partner came in search of his children, to issues about the hall across the road from the school site which serves alcohol.
She said comparisons were made to the facility near Esperance in WA, but the property is on 250 hectares, 30 kilometres outside of the town.
Also of distress to the group is confusion about state and federal requirements for a rehabilitation facility, and qualifications and experience of staff, as well as fears woman could be discriminated against due to their sexuality or religion.
“There have been many letters go to the council that haven't been answered, they haven't even had an acknowledgement that they have had a letter of concern,” she said.
Meander Valley mayor Craig Perkins said he could not comment on any legal action being undertaken.
*Name changed.