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A group of supporters of Rosecrance’s proposed sober facility felt compelled to do some canvassing of their own after reading RedEye’s coverage of stigmatizing pink signs recently found in Juniper Park near the Southport Corridor in Chicago.

Where there were once signs that read “You may have a METH ADDICT sitting here,” there are now ones that read, “You could have a HUMAN BEING sitting here” if Rosecrance’s proposal for sober housing is approved by the Zoning Board of Appeals on Oct. 16.

But on the welcoming signs is an added provocation: “Believe in making the world better? It starts with compassion … empathy … in OUR OWN BACKYARD.”

The newly founded group responsible for these latest postings is called the Big Shoulders Welcoming Committee. According to its Facebook page, it is “a community of Chicago residents encouraging inclusivity toward our neighborhood healing centers.”

Molly Brennan, who alerted RedEye to the new signs on Saturday, said at the time, “We’re less than 24 hours old.” She said five active members collaborated on the signs. “We wanted to present our shared idea that addicts are us, not them.”

“We went from a couple people to many within less than a day,” Brennan wrote in an email. “Lots of folks contacted us wanting to support the signage.”

Corrbette Pasko, another member of the group, told RedEye in an interview, “The group grew pretty quickly as soon as we put ourselves out there.”

“We all live in the city, and some of us live in the 44th [Ward],” Pasko said. “Some of us are parents and some of us are in recovery, and this is something that we feel very strongly about.”

Both Pasko and Brennan said they have no affiliation with Rosecrance, which is based in Rockford. They will continue to canvass the area to promote a welcoming attitude toward the facility and its potential residents.

Philip Eaton, president and CEO of Rosecrance, responded to the new signs.

“We’ve known from the beginning that we had a lot of support in the community,” he said. “But it’s hard for those voices to be heard when the opposition is so loud and when the comments are so derisive and personal toward people who have the courage to reach out for help.”

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When asked what kind of impact these new messages coming from the neighborhood may have on potential residents in recovery, Eaton said, “I think this kind of support goes a long way toward fighting stigma, and it may help someone who is struggling today find the strength to get the help he or she needs. Millions of people have done that through the years and found their way to lasting recovery. That’s what this Lakeview project is all about.”

The Lakeview Action Committee, which has publicly opposed the proposed facility but disavowed the original signs in a Facebook post and a RedEye interview, could not be immediately reached for comment.

Eaton said, “The new signs represent the Chicago we’ve come to know and have served for decades—a great Midwestern city, the city of big shoulders where compassionate, forward-thinking and open-minded people lift one another up to achieve good for themselves and the community.”

Zachary Siegel is a RedEye special contributor. He is a former drug addict and appeared as a source in a previous RedEye story about addiction.

You can find our coverage online and in print every Wednesday this year. As ever, we’d like to hear your feedback. If you want us to consider sharing your stories related to addiction in our publication, please send them to [email protected] with “Addiction” in the subject line.