A West Broadway methadone clinic may soon have a daycare center as a neighbor
Renovations are underway for a possible child care facility in the Hawthorne Crossing plaza. Photo by David Pierini
By David Pierini, Editor
Can a childcare center be a compatible neighbor with a methadone clinic?
A Northside community leader and residents who have signed onto a petition say the idea is absurd. They are calling for a review of local zoning laws, approvals, and state daycare licensing practices to stop a center from moving into the Hawthorn Crossings plaza on West Broadway Avenue next door to Community Medical Services.
KB Brown, who heads the non-profit Project Refocus, said the campaign is not an attack on addiction treatment. He praised the clinic for a measurable decline in fentanyl overdoses along West Broadway since it opened in 2018.
But Brown said there are still signs of opioid abuse, including discarded needles and fentanyl wrappers that create safety hazards for children.
“I don’t know anyone who would want to bring a vulnerable person to that area,” Brown told North News. “If something happens to a child, they’re going to blame the daycare, they’re going to blame the clinic. That clinic is necessary to conquer the opioid crisis.”
Work is underway to renovate the space once occupied by M Health Fairview’s West Broadway clinic, and Brown believes the doors could open sometime this summer.
Sherman and Associates, the property managers, did not return requests for comment. A spokesperson for the Minnesota Department of Children, Youth and Families, which oversees childcare licensing, said the agency has not received a license application for this location.
Seneca Krueger, the clinic’s community impact manager, said her company is aware of the proposed daycare. She said the conversation cannot be reduced to “choose children or choose people struggling with drug use.”
She would not say whether she supports the idea of a daycare center next door.
“We encourage new businesses that meet the needs of our neighborhood and the families that reside within it,” Krueger said. “The community doesn't want blind development; it wants intentional development with community involvement.
“It's a conversation about who sits at the table, and about whose voice is heard. The answer should always be, “the people who make up the Hawthorne community.”
The West Broadway Business and Area Coalition (WBC) opposed Community Medical Services’ opening a clinic right next to the US Bank branch, which was then one of only two banks in North Minneapolis.
Local business leaders could do little to stop the clinic from moving in, but the clinic reassured WBC Executive Director Kristel Porter that there was enough staff to ensure clients could get back to their vehicles or the bus stop.
But those assurances aren’t always carried out, Porter said.
“The reality is the people they’re serving have a list of things they’re struggling with. It’s just not safe,” she said. “I’ve picked up needles; I’ve seen cars full of people pull up and just sit there. Things happen in this parking lot. Mix that with children? Let’s be real. If parents see that kind of traffic, they’re going to take their kids out of that childcare.”
Krueger said the clinic is a space where anyone seeking help can walk through the front door. Their clients struggle with more than addiction. Other issues include housing insecurity, mental health struggles, a criminal record, and insurance snags.
She said she welcomes conversations about safety, especially when children are involved. But she worries about how people perceive the clinic's clients.
“(Some) groups of people are deemed ‘unsafe,’ based solely on those marginalized identities. Our patients are parents, grandparents, favorite aunties, and the cool cousin who babysits your kids, feeds them pizza, and lets them stay up late. Our patients, like all communities, are made up of a whole lot of unique people with a whole slew of unique identities; drug use is just one of them.”