Mobile methadone clinic to stay in Fairview

A new mobile methadone clinic in the Halifax community of Fairview won't be mobile at all, business owners decided at a community meeting Monday night.

A Winnebago that will be transformed into a methadone clinic will remain stationary on Vimy Avenue off Lacewood Drive — a location with few businesses nearby.

The vehicle, which will be operated by Direction 180, is the solution to a heated debate that saw the community of Fairview speak out against a permanent clinic at a house on Dutch Village Road.

Direction 180, which currently operates a methadone clinic on Gottingen Street, bought the house and planned to put a second clinic there. When news of the plan spread, businesses in the area opposed it and started a campaign to buy them out.

The community raised more than $520,000 in one week. Of that, $100,000 was put toward renovating and operating the mobile clinic and the rest was used to cover the price of the house.

About 20 people attended a community meeting at the Alive Christian Church on Willett Street on Monday night to discuss options for the Dutch Village Road house, which now belongs to the community.

The group has not yet decided what to do with the house.

The vehicle housing the methadone clinic is being upgraded before it hits the road, a process that will take a few more weeks. Direction 180 has said it will hire a security driver to operate the vehicle and they'll also have a nurse and a physician on board.