Framingham Nonprofit Files Suit
Accuses town of discrimination against poor, drug addicts
An anti-poverty agency has filed a federal lawsuit against Framingham officials and residents, claiming they illegally delayed the expansion of a group home for recovering drug addicts and their families.
The lawsuit was filed in Boston by the South Middlesex Opportunity Council, one of the area's largest nonprofit agencies fighting poverty.
It names the town, numerous city officials and two residents, and seeks unspecified damages. It also wants the town ordered to obey civil rights laws.
Bringing Up The Dregs
The lawsuit said town officials and the residents engaged in a "coordinated effort to rid the Town of Framingham ... of its disabled population" and described people who would use the group home as "problem people," "charity cases," "human waste" and "dregs of society."
The town officials and residents named in the lawsuit said they acted legally and were concerned about the growth of social services agencies in Framingham. Some Town Meeting members have complained the agencies drain municipal services and depress surrounding property values.
Town Meeting member Steven Orr called the lawsuit "completely, unbelievably unfair."
In June 2005, the South Middlesex Opportunity Council bought a former nursing home to roughly double participation in its residential treatment program called Sage House to up to 15 families.
The lawsuit claims the city tried numerous tactics to stall the project - including requiring the council to appear at seven Planning Board hearing - while residents started Web sites with false information and defamatory comments.
The council received a temporary occupancy permit for Sage House on Aug. 23, but a resident has appealed.
The lawsuit is the third filed in federal court by a nonprofit agency in the past two years alleging the town violated federal and state civil rights laws in an effort to derail programs for the sick or needy. (AP)
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