Lax security at Baker Victory cited in Lackawanna hearing

Residents who attended a public hearing Thursday to discuss the construction of a proposed $16.2 million residential treatment facility by Baker Victory Services were united in their concern over lax security conditions at the current facility on Martin Road.

A janitor who works at the treatment facility at 125 Martin Road described fights among residents on the front lawn. A neighbor said residents and workers from the facility smoke on his front lawn.

Even the mayor of Lackawanna chimed in describing how the young residents break out on summer evenings to go swimming in the neighbors backyard pools.

These arent little angels, Mayor Geoffrey M. Szymanski said. They are criminals, and we dont want them in our neighborhood.

With that, Szymanski offered a 3-inch stack of police and fire calls at the treatment center over the last eight years.

Thats 1,622 calls for service, the mayor said. Nonprofits become a drain on city budgets. If Father Baker wanted to help these kinds of individuals, he would have founded it.

The hearing held by the Lackawanna Planning and Development Board drew about 50 residents and 15 representatives of Baker Victory to the Lackawanna Senior Center. The hearing was the latest development for the beleaguered project that was proposed in 2009.

The current treatment facility, resembling a 1950s Army style barracks, is outdated, said Terese M. Scofidio, CEO of Baker Victory Services. It serves as a temporary home for 40 youth ages 13 to 21 with psychiatric and behavioral issues. Many are referred by the New York State Office of Mental Health, she said.

The average age of residents is just under 16, and the average stay is just over a year, said Scofidio, who took the top job six months ago. Eighty-two percent of residents come from the eight counties of Western New York, she said, and 40 percent of the population is female.

Baker Victory is the largest employer in Lackawanna, Scofidio said. We have 123 residents on the payroll.

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Lax security at Baker Victory cited in Lackawanna hearing