After a multi-year struggle with the city of Port Wentworth, Front Porch Recovery Center is finally opening its doors to the community on Nov. 1.
Katy Parker, a doctor of psychology, and her husband Glenn bought seven acres tucked away near Rice Creek Plantation in Port Wentworth in 2021 hoping to open the center within about six months to a year. Front Porch Recover Center, a six-bed, voluntary addiction and alcohol recovery program, was a project of passion they had sunk their money and energy into when they moved across the country.
Their plans came to a halt shortly after they bought the house and relocated to Port Wentworth, because neighboring residents along the private dirt road complained that the facility operated as a commercial business and was illegal. The Parkers were denied a special-use permit, even though the zoning at the time allowed for a residential treatment center.
“I was just confused. I thought, okay, they just need education,” Katy Parker said. “So, I made a 50-slide Powerpoint illustrating who I am, what we aim to do, how we do it, how the people there are going to be monitored and treated. I did the whole song and dance, and at the end of the day, they were just like we’re glad you want to help, but not here. Not here.”