Local project makes TaxWatch group’s ‘turkey’ list

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LEE COUNTY, Fla.- Around $164,000 is going to a Salvation Army program to help the mentally ill get off drugs.

One group is saying the money is a waste of your tax dollars, but the Salvation Army says it’s making Lee County safer.

The program survived Governor Rick Scott’s veto pen.

The Salvation Army runs the program that serves convicted felons in southwest Florida. Up until now, it treated  men and women only for substance abuse. Now, it gets money to treat mental health problems.

In Tallahassee, the TaxWatch group put out a list of projects that it believes don’t deserve taxpayer dollars.

One program treats 37 felons in a non-secure center, the Red Shield Lodge in Fort Myers. A judge sends the non-violent offenders to the center as a diversion from jail or prison. The money will allow six more beds, plus mental health counseling.

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