CARLA CROWDER
News staff writer
March 11, 2004

Pamela Simon had been out of prison nine days when the "notice to vacate" sign appeared on the door of the halfway house where she has been paroled.

"You must vacate immediately to avoid the potential embarrassment of having your belongings placed on the street by the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department," the sign said.

It's the same notice that dozens of parolees at the Neighborhood House, a 32-unit apartment complex, found Tuesday.

They depend on the Neighborhood House for a place to live, transportation to jobs and parole meetings, and counseling and support to stay sober. "They welcomed me with open arms," said Simon, 37, of Mobile, who served six years for leaving the scene of an accident with injuries.

But a dispute between the City of Birmingham and the operators of the Woodlawn halfway house has left Simon and the others in limbo.

"You don't want people on parole on the streets, homeless," said David Mixson, a district supervisor with the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles. Mixson and state parole officials have been scrambling to find new placements for about 35 parolees as well as five prisoners scheduled to be paroled next week to Neighborhood House.

About another 50 residents not on parole also must vacate.

City officials say they have no choice but to foreclose on the building, as well as a smaller complex on Division Avenue run by Neighborhood House. They say the current owners were taking advantage of parolees and have no legal right to use the buildings as a halfway house.

"They are some of our less fortunate citizens, and it's unfortunate they've been placed in this position," said Deborah Walker, an attorney for Birmingham's Community Development Department.

Howard Peoples and Bill Darling, who run Neighborhood House, say they've been trying to work out an agreement with the city and are willing to take over the mortgage. Then the notices to vacate appeared.

"For some reason, the city thinks we're getting a ton of money, but some of them (the parolees) don't pay," Darling said.

HUD regulations:

The crux of the problem is that the buildings initially were under a HUD-related purchase agreement between the city and another buyer. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development places requirements on buyers in its programs, and the apartments were supposed to be occupied by low-income families, Walker said.

That arrangement fell through, and Neighborhood House began using the buildings. But no one informed the city.

The buildings at issue are a brick complex at 5012 Second Ave. North and a gray-siding building at 6448 Division Ave., which houses "graduates" of the halfway house.

Walker said the city had no legal relationship with Peoples and Darling, and she does not know how they came to occupy the buildings. The halfway house arrangement - four parolees living in one apartment, violates HUD rules and creates liability for the city, she said.

The city foreclosed on the property Jan. 27, and gave the parolees 30 days to move out.

They were supposed to be out late last week. However, Peoples and Darling told everyone to stay put, "so that's caused quite a bit of confusion," Walker said.

Parolees pay about $100 a week to stay there. Neighborhood House also charges them a one-time $80 assessment fee when they arrive, and $4 per day for transportation.

With the state increasing paroles to relieve prison crowding, halfway house beds are at a premium. Prisoners are eager to get accepted by a halfway houses because the parole board is more likely to release a prisoner to a transitional setting where support for drug-recovery, jobs and transportation is available.

Mixson said he plans to organize a meeting of affected parolees to try to help them find other arrangements.

A problem parole officials will continue to face, however, is that halfway houses are unregulated in Alabama, said Cynthia Dillard, assistant executive director of the parole board.

The problems with Neighborhood House illustrate the need for state oversight, she said.

"There is no oversight of halfway houses. Anybody can throw up a shingle, and say they're a halfway house and most of them are for profit," Dillard said.

Neighborhood House has applied to the IRS for nonprofit status, but the approval has not been completed.

House operators say they have rescued a blighted, drug-infested eyesore, and turned it into a productive property. Now they're ready to buy it.

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