The safety of county residents, and in particular those in the Ladoga area, was discussed Monday during the regular meeting of the Montgomery County Commissioners.
Montgomery County Sheriff Ryan Needham shared his concerns about the Ladoga Recovery Center, located in the former Indiana Children’s Home at 8506 Academy Way. The center’s mission is to assist those addicted to alcohol, drugs or other substance through inpatient treatment plans.
Needham said there are numerous calls for assistance per day and it has become a problem for both his office and the city-run ambulance service.
“We have been called 34 times this month alone and the calls range from sick people, to suicidal people, and to people just walking out,” Needham said. “It is not a secure facility and it is using a ton of county resources between us and the fire departments.”
Needham’s concerns do not stop with the number of calls they receive. He claims the center’s staff are not helping.
“When we do respond, we get very little cooperation,” Needham said.
Needham said he met with the center’s administration before it opened in the fall of 2024 to discuss safety and operating procedures.
“But that is not how things are,” Needham said. “This has been ongoing.”
Needham said three weeks ago administrators from his department along with the Crawfordsville Fire Department and fire department’s social services director met with the center’s administrators. Needham claims administrators at the treatment center agreed there is a problem and proposed solutions for their staff to perform. However, Needham said nothing that was promised has been done.
Needham said ultimately he is concerned “something bad is going to happen.”
The center is not a secure center and clients are allowed to leave the program, or walk away, at any time.
Originally the treatment center informed the county there would be no violent offenders admitted into the program. However, such clients do exist.
Needham shared how he picked up a “walk away” client a few weeks ago on a Sunday afternoon. The procedure is to take the person to a gas station so the client can call someone for pick up.
On the following Monday, Needham looked into the patient’s criminal record and discovered he was a violent felon.
“He had been incarcerated for auto theft, burglary with a deadly weapon and he just walked out,” Needham said. “The concern is that this is Ladoga.”
“Last week we had a guy who was wanted for battery on a public safety official and he just walked out late at night,” Needham said. “We never did locate him. We are just concerned this is going to bring things to the community that we just don’t want.”
Needham said the center’s administration has not shown a true interest in fixing the problems and he does not know what the options are for the county.
Commissioners thanked the sheriff for bringing his concern to them. Commissioners said they will look into any remedies they can provide, however, they pledged to the sheriff they will help all they can to correct the problems.
Needham is looking for answers to the ongoing problem. One answer would be to stop responding to calls for help, but he knows that could put Ladoga areas residents at risk.
