Addiction recovery home pulls out of Havertown proposal following neighborhood pushback

A Philadelphia-based recovery home operator is pulling out of a proposal to expand in Haverford Township, ending its bid to house those struggling with addiction in a suburban neighborhood where opposition was fierce.

The group, Savage Sisters, was already offering recovery services at the home on Tenby Road in Havertown, but had sought to increase its bed capacity there from three to nine.

Savage Sisters rents the home; in order to expand, the nonprofit made appeals to Haverford’s zoning board this spring for relief from a local code that bars more than three unrelated individuals from living in the same property.

Township officials were neutral on the matter. However, the zoning meetings drew neighbors from the surrounding community who strongly opposed those recovering from addiction living in their backyards.

That included a lawyer hired by one Tenby Road neighbor to represent the opposition; their argument leaned into concerns of theft and other quality-of-life issues that neighbors believed would come as a result of the expansion.

More hearings were scheduled. Then, this month, Savage Sisters pulled out of the proposal. The nonprofit is leaving the area entirely, and has moved the three residents from Havertown to one of its homes in South Philadelphia

“I wouldn’t say it’s a loss for Savage Sisters,” said Sarah Laurel, the executive director of Savage Sisters. “It’s traumatizing enough to come into early recovery — you feel very isolated and afraid — so to do that in a community where people are very aggressively discriminating against you, I wouldn’t feel safe with that.”

Savage Sisters operates nine recovery homes in Philadelphia, but executives with the nonprofit said that rising demand for opioid addiction recovery in the suburbs drove its bid for the Delaware County property.

Executives chose the Tenby Road home due to its proximity to public transit, addiction therapy groups, and employment opportunities.

Recovery homes differ from treatment facilities by offering a gateway for those struggling with addiction to return to everyday life.

Savage Sisters residents pay a small rent, and are encouraged to find work and attend therapy during their temporary stay. Residents are also routinely drug-tested; the nonprofit has a zero-tolerance policy toward substance abuse, and anyone found using drugs is sent to treatment.

Haverford Township’s approval of Savage Sisters’ variance request would have required the owner of the Tenby Road home — who rents to the nonprofit — to produce a deed.

But the owner, according to Laurel, has misplaced her copy. Securing a new deed would have taken until the end of the year, she added, a time period of continued rent that, at around $4,000 per month, the nonprofit could not reasonably afford without adding more residents.

Finances weren’t Savage Sisters’ only concern.

Laurel said the Tenby Road residents reported that neighbors were taking photos and videos of them as they entered and exited the home.

Meanwhile, the Savage Sisters faces opposition elsewhere.

The nonprofit recently opened an all-women’s recovery home in Upper Darby, but Laurel said landlords aren’t willing to offer up a lease for an all-men’s home in the township.

The nonprofit director said it was “upsetting,” considering that Savage Sisters has a lengthy waitlist for those seeking recovery beds in Delaware County.

“This was an eye-opening experience, to know that people in their hometowns are met with so much discrimination that they cannot even safely return home after getting into their recovery journey,” Laurel said. “That’s a huge barrier.”