TROSA expands to Triad, breaks s;
ground in Forsyth County
BY TEVIN STINSON
THE CHRONICLE
Last week Triangle
Residential Options
for Substance Abusers
(TROSA), a Durham-
based nonprofit residential
recovery program, took a
step closer to expanding
services to the Triad when
they broke ground for their
new facility on Union
Cross Road.
TROSA has been
serving the Triangle area
since 1994 when founder
Kevin McDonald set out
to help addicts in the area
lead healthy, productive
lives. Since its inception,
TROSA has helped more
than 9,000 people from
across the state become
productive citizens by
providing comprehensive
treatment and vocational
training. Many of the
participants in the program
work with TROSA’s
moving crew or lawn care
crew while they complete
the program.
Keith Artin, president
and CEO, said the program
has a 90% success rate
and almost everyone who
finishes the program finds
employment. “Almost
100% find jobs upon
completion of our program.
Over 90% stay sober anl
avoid any kind of criminal
convictions in the years
following,” said Ardin
during the groundbreaking
ceremony.
TROSA began talks
about expansion in 2018,
when it was reported they
were looking to open a
facility in the Triad. Artin
said at a place in time
when the opioid epidemic
is getting worse and more
people than ever are in
Photo by Tevin Stinson
Representatives with TROSA, local elected officals and others break ground on TROSA’s new facility on Union
Cross Road.
need, there needs to be
more recovery options.
“People used to always say
we need more programs
like TROSA and we
agreed,” he continued.
“Our state and our
nation has been struggling
with this epidemic and
we. need more options for
recovery ... We know the
need is out there and the
need is here in Forsyth
County and throughout the
state. We’re very fortunate
to be able to expand
our work so that we can
empower even more
North Carolinians who
are trying to rebuild their
lives, reconnect with their
families, and reclaim their
futures.”
Initially, TROSA
planned to move its
facility to 16 acres of land
off Old Greensboro Road.
They intended to convert
The Commons of Forsyth
County, which is located on
Felicity Circle and Felicity
Lane, into a facility that
would serve 250 people.
But during a meeting in
2019, the Winston-Salem
City Council voted 7-1 to
deny rezoning in favor of
TROSA. Before voting,
several council members
encouraged TROSA
officials to consider
opening the facility in a
location with the zoning
they needed already in
place.
TROSA’s new campus
will be located at 1931
Union Cross Road and it
is expected to be up and
running by 2022. The
facility will begin with 100
beds and expand to 200
in the future. TROSA’s
expansion is made possible
by the North Carolina
General Assembly, the
Appalachian Regional
Commission (ARC), Blue
Cross and Blue Shield
of North Carolina, and
Peter J. and Prudence
F. Meehan. Additional
generous support is
provided by the following
foundations: Golden
LEAF Foundation, Truist
Charitable Fund, Hanley
Family Foundation, and
The Winston-Salem
Foundation.
During the
groundbreaking ceremony
on Friday, April 30, several
elected officials spoke in
support of TROSA’s move
to Forsyth County. Senator
Joyce Krawiec said the
groundbreaking ceremony
was a culmination of a lot
of hard work from a lot of
different people who were
all focused on one goal:
helping citizens in need
rebuild their lives.
“I know the City
Council, the Commission,
the Forsyth delegation,
all my colleagues in the
House and Senate, we
are ready and able to do
all that we can to make
sure that this becomes a
complete reality.”
When asked about
TROSA’s move to the
area, Winston-Salem City
Councilmember James
Taylor, who is publisher
of The Chronicle, said,
“There are citizens in our
city that have had to deal
with the drug epidemic
and the COVID-19
pandemic all at the same
time. We’re excited to have
a program like TROSA
in the Southeast Ward to
provide more recovery
options for residents in our
community. I’m thankful
that TROSA didn’t give
up on Winston-Salem;
because we are better as a
city by having them as our
new neighbors.”
N.C. House
Representative
Donny Lambeth said,
“TROSA Triad will be
a great addition to the
community.” Lambeth,
who represents District
75, said independent
research shows TROSA
saves taxpayers millions
of dollars in court costs,
incarceration, emergency
medical care, and other
services.
“We know that when
people with substance use
disorder enter and stay
in recovery, lots of good
things happen. Individuals
throw off the burden
of addiction and rejoin
society as productive,
healthy citizens,” Lambeth
continued. ”But it’s not
just the residents and
their families that benefit
when someone receives
treatment and stays in
recovery; in fact, our
entire community and
our state benefits. ... As
public officials, we have
a responsibility to ensure
that the taxpayers’ money
is spent wisely and with
TROSA Triad, we know
the return on investment
will be substantial.”
For more information
about TROSA and the
nonprofit’s expansion,
visit www.trosainc.org.
Ronnie Long suing City of Concord for suppressing evidence
BY TEVIN STINSON
THE CHRONICLE
Ronnie Long, the N.C.
man who spent 44 years in
prison for a crime he didn’t
commit, is taking the City
of Concord and every
detective that worked on
his case to court. Earlier
this week, Long’s lawyers
filed a lawsuit alleging
that the defendants in
the case knowingly kept
Long in prison for nearly
50 years, despite having
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evidence that proved he
was innocent.
When he was only 19
years old, Long, who is
Black, was charged with the
assault and rape of a white
woman in her home on
April 25, 1976. According
to police reports, the
victim was the widow of
a top executive at Cannon
Mills, a major textile
company and employer
in the area. The victim
described her attacker as
a “yellow-looking African
American,” wearing a
leather jacket, a toboggan,
and gloves. She told police
her attacker came through
an open window before
pressing a knife against
her neck and ripping her
clothes off.
After she was unable
to pick her attacker out of
a lineup, two weeks after
the assault, investigators
with the Concord Police
Department took the victim
Happy Mother’s Day
submitted photo
Ronnie Long, the N.C. man who spent 44 years in prison for a crime he didn’t
commit has filed a lawsuit against the City of Concord.
to the courthouse and
told her that her attacker
may or may not be in the
Courtroom, and asked her
to identify anyone who
looked “familiar.”
Long was in the
courtroom to settle a minor
trespassing charge, but
as soon as he stood up
wearing a leather jacket,
the victim identified him
as her attacker. She later
picked Long’s photo out
of a lineup where he was
the only person wearing a
leather jacket.
Despite having an alibi
that placed him elsewhere
at the time of the assault
and no physical evidence
connecting him to the
crime, on Oct. 1, 1976,
Long was sentenced to
serve 80 years in prison.
After spending his
entire adult life in prison,
following a ruling from
the U.S. Court of Appeals,
Long was released
last September and in
December, Gov. Roy
Cooper officially pardoned
Long. For his time spent
in prison, Long received
$750,000 from the state.
In addition to the
City of Concord and
everyone who worked
on his case in 1976, the
lawsuit also names the
current and former chiefs
of the Concord Police
Department.
The Chronicle began
following Long’s fight for
freedom in 2019 and we
followed his journey until
he was freed last year. To
learn more about Long and
his fight for freedom, visit
https://wschronicle.com/
tag/ronnie-long/.