KNOWLTON TOWNSHIP, N.J. (WCBS 880) — A New Jersey nonprofit that supports grieving parents said they're being forced out, but local officials say they shouldn't have been there in the first place.
Becky Mcallister said Hayden's House of Healing in Warren County was a lifesaver after she lost her 16-year-old son Evan in an ATV accident in 2020.
"I found people who didn't judge you for your grief and where you were at and how you felt," she said. "I found my smile again."
Over 400 bereaved parents have found comfort and support at the nonprofit's home, which it has owned since 2019.
But the organization, which hosts retreats and events, is now closing after getting a letter from Knowlton Township in July saying that it needed to apply for a variance to keep operating as a "business" in a residential area.
Ady Dorsett, the CEO and co-founder of Hayden's House, said she was blindsided.
"Everything that came at us, we said that we would fix," she said. "It just wasn't good enough. It came down to the discrimination of our bereaved community being too sad."
The Knowlton Township Board of Adjustment denied the required variance.
"The zoning in Knowlton for that particular area is residential zoning," said Roger Thomas, an attorney for the board.
The nonprofit is raising money for a new space in Hope Township.
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