A town hall meeting to address the methadone clinic that is expected to come to Dunkirk in the future at Third and Main streets did little to reduce any community anxiety.

As part of the electronic gathering, Engenio Russi, executive director of Hispanics United, gave a brief history and shared that 28 locations were visited in the city before the final decision was made. He also said that an architect has been hired to begin renderings of what the clinic will look like.

While there is a definite need in our region for this facility, there remains plenty of worries from the community regarding where it is located. Russi and colleague Elizabeth Smith offered details on what the clinic will offer and discussed some of the concerns.

“We know we’re going to be held to a higher standard and I welcome the community to talk with me, to engage with me any time that they feel we’re not doing our part,” Russi said.

We definitely take issue with that response. Hispanics United, in recent years, has not been forthcoming with information when the OBSERVER reached out a number of times — via phone calls and emails. Now that the organization is truly investing in the city, we hope they do a better job of responding to queries.

Here are the emails both provided during the meeting: Russi at erussi@hubwny.org or Smith at esmith@hubwny.org.