DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — Claratel Behavioral Health canceled a multimillion-dollar residential project for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities on Wesley Chapel Road amid growing community concerns and questions from DeKalb County commissioners. Claratel announced Oct. 29 that it had ended the project at 3053 Wesley Chapel Road, stopped construction and canceled a community meeting scheduled for that evening at Southwest DeKalb High School. In its Oct. 29 announcement, Claratel said the development was intended to provide two single-family style homes for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The organization also pushed back on information it said had circulated in the community describing the development as a crisis center and mischaracterizing the people who would live there, calling it “completely inaccurate.” In its Oct. 30 follow-up statement, Claratel said each home would have served no more than four adults, with caregivers available 24 hours a day. The organization said the homes were intended for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, including people with autism and Down syndrome who need assistance with daily living. Claratel described the project as part of a statewide effort by the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities to expand specialized residential care. The Oct. 30 statement put the planned state investment at about $4.5 million in construction and an estimated $3.5…
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