‘You have to be worried’: Neighbors speak out after health facility opens

For residents living near Artemis Adolescent Healing Center, a home that once felt quiet and predictable has become a source of anxiety. Miriam Kirsten and Debra Childers, who have lived in the Tucson neighborhood for decades, say adolescents leaving the behavioral health facility have entered nearby yards and unsettled residents. They say they now take extra precautions, especially after dark, while also worrying about the safety of the young people who leave the property.

Kirsten has lived in the neighborhood for 28 years and said she previously felt entirely secure there. That changed after Artemis opened its adolescent residential facility last fall. The house is licensed for as many as 10 residents in five bedrooms. According to Pima County Sheriff’s Department records, two reported runaway incidents involved adolescents leaving the property. Neighbors provided security camera footage connected to those incidents, including video showing an adolescent in a neighbor’s backyard.

The incidents have affected how residents use and secure their homes. Kirsten said she now makes sure doors and other parts of the house are locked whenever she leaves, with nighttime creating particular concern. Childers described adolescents running through her yard while apparently trying to get away, including some who were wearing only socks. Her concern is not limited to trespassing or property disruption. She said the young people could also be endangered by the neighborhood’s natural surroundings, including the possibility of stepping on a snake.

The sheriff’s records indicate that two people were arrested for first degree criminal trespassing during one of the incidents. A neighbor later received a letter from the Pima County Attorney’s Office concerning one of the juveniles. The letter said prosecutors would not pursue charges because, based on the information available at that time, additional prosecution was not warranted. The records and footage have fueled residents’ concerns about what is happening at the facility and whether its safeguards are adequate when adolescents attempt to leave.

Artemis officials say the facility’s purpose is to provide care to young people who need it, while acknowledging that surrounding residents should feel safe. Shawna Beckman, the organization’s chief clinical officer, said mental health treatment should not be stigmatized and that many families are affected by mental health struggles. She urged neighbors to communicate with Artemis when problems arise. Emails shared by residents show that they have contacted the organization and received responses.

In one email, Artemis told neighbors it was working to make similar incidents less likely in the future. The organization also explained that the program is voluntary and that the minors are not being held against their will. Artemis is licensed as a Behavioral Health Residential Facility, rather than as an inpatient facility. Under Arizona rules, a residential facility treats people whose behavioral health conditions make independent living difficult or require treatment to support or improve their independence.

That designation is different from an inpatient facility, which provides continuous care to people whose conditions may make them a danger to themselves or others, substantially impair their judgment or ability to recognize reality, or prevent them from meeting basic physical needs. Artemis operates four residential facilities in Arizona. The distinction helps explain why adolescents at the Tucson location can leave, but it has not eased the neighborhood’s concerns about what happens when they do.

The county’s authority over the facility is limited. Tom Drzazgowski, deputy director of Pima County Development Services, said state officials license group homes, while the county primarily addresses whether a property is functioning as a residential use or has become a more intensive commercial operation. A group home is generally allowed when it operates like a residence. If doctors, nurses or other professionals live at the property, or if staff regularly provide services there in a way that changes the building’s character, the use may be considered commercial and subject to different zoning requirements. Residents who believe a facility is operating beyond a residential use can submit a complaint to the county.

Childers wants the house closed and returned to use as a conventional family home. She and Kirsten also want greater awareness and oversight of behavioral health facilities in residential neighborhoods. Their concerns include the well-being of nearby residents, the risks faced by adolescents who run away and what they describe as serious conditions inside the facility. At the same time, Artemis maintains that the young people need treatment and that the surrounding community deserves safety. That tension remains unresolved as neighbors and the organization address the incidents and consider what additional protections may be needed.