Greenlea Residents Meet With Owner of Group Home

Nelson Kletzli said he hasn't met his new neighbors who live across the street at

He said he's heard that they are "nice gentlemen" -- two residents who occupy a home owned by mental health care provider Transitional Services Inc. In October,  the Homestead-based nonprofit agency purchased the two-story house to provide a home for people with mental illness who are ready to live independently.

In recent months, that home has become a contentious issue in the tight-knit neighborhood. Residents tried to of the home, pleading with local lawmakers and filing an appeal of an occupancy permit issued to Transitional Services in March.

That appeal failed, and in late April the men quietly moved into the house; two more are expected to join them soon. The men have said they are not allowed to talk to reporters.

"I know that children in the neighborhood are going to different bus stops because parents don't want them walking by the house," Kletzli said. "Whether that's right or wrong, I don't know.

"There's just been a lot of tension and anger and mistrust," Kletzli said.

After months of contention, Kletzli and other Greenlea residents had the chance to sit down with representatives from Transitional Services on May 19 at the township municipal building.

The informal session was meant to start a dialogue, said  Moon Board of Supervisors Chairman Jim Vitale, who was present at the meeting.

"I think it went really well," Vitale said. "It should have happened several months ago, but for whatever reason everyone couldn't get together."

Kletzli said the meeting left him and other neighbors on the street with mixed feelings. He said although a "good dialogue" took place, issues on the street are far from resolved.

"I don't think any of us came away with the warm and fuzzies," he said of the meeting.

He said representatives from Transitional Services declined to explain why they chose to purchase the home on Greenlea Drive. The agency could not be reached for comment.

He and a dozen other residents on the street have formed an organization, Moon Advocates for Community Safety. They meet about once a month, usually at a neighbor's home on Greenlea Drive. He said the goal of the organization was to prevent another home similar to 162 Greenlea from opening in Moon.

"We used to be a little bit more emotional," Kletzli said of the neighborhood's efforts to prevent the home from opening. "But now we just feel that this is not a good fit. The zoning is written too broadly, and now we have two residents who are really at a loss.

"This is not going to be a one-time thing," Kletzli said. "More and more entities like this are going to come."