Rehab house relapses

Wendy Johnston insists she's on a mission to save lives, but others have a dimmer view of her efforts to house recovering alcoholics and drug addicts in a stately mansion in one of Charleston's premier neighborhoods.

The former beauty queen and car dealer moved her Faith Haven program into 64 Rutledge Ave. in late August after being evicted from a condominium complex on Daniel Island for failing to pay rent, according to court documents and her former landlord.

The nearly 6,000-square-foot home near Colonial Lake had been on the market for 13 months at $2.5 million. So when Johnston came along with plans to lease the building with an option to buy, the owners were thrilled. They thought they would be helping a good cause, and Johnston assured them the neighbors wouldn't even know the tenants were there, said Monti Mengedoht Hanger, whose family has owned the home since 1977.

That hasn't been the case. Neighbors have complained about noise, disruptions and a general lack of supervision at the home. Police have been called there on several occasions, including Saturday night for a showdown between Johnston and some of her tenants. Mayor Joe Riley also has passed along concerns to the state about a perceived lack of management and support services at Faith Haven.

"We are concerned about it, and we are doing everything we can to have this facility closed," Riley said.

It looks like the city soon might get its wish. Charles Dukes, who has served as president of Faith Haven's board of directors, showed up at the home late Monday and announced he had fired Johnston as executive director and he was canceling the lease, with plans to relocate the program's residents, according to the Mengedoht family. Dukes was in the house but would not come outside to speak with a reporter.

Dan Mengedoht said residents, counselors and others gathered outside the home, sharing a "cathartic" moment over Johnston's departure. "It felt like a curse had been lifted," he said.

No so fast, Johnston said, when reached at her home later in the day. She said Dukes had resigned his position three weeks ago and lacked any authority to remove her as executive director. She said he is within his rights to terminate the lease, as his name is on the document, but she fully intends to keep Faith Haven going, even if she has to move again.

"At this point, we don't even want to be there," she said. "We don't want to be in a hostile neighborhood."

Faith Haven is considered a sober living facility. It offers people a place to live, but has no services on site, Johnston said. As such, it is not licensed by the state. Its tenants usually come straight from a detox facility and stay for up to eight weeks at no cost, she said. The organization depends on donations from churches, individuals and charitable organizations to operate, she said. The home is designed to accommodate 12 people, but neighbors and volunteers said as many as 20 people have stayed there at one time.

"The problem is not with the residents at all, it's with the director," said Marilyn Johnson, who lives across the street. "Nobody is watching the place, and there is nothing for the people to do."

Johnston, who has never run such a facility before, said she spends plenty of time at the home and that residents regularly travel to Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and other activities.

She blamed her problems on a not-in-my-neighborhood backlash from residents and a campaign of "gossip-mongering run amok" spread by enemies, including her estranged husband's family.

Johnston said her sister-in-law, Mount Pleasant attorney Emily Johnston, sent copies of unpaid bills, liens and court judgments to city officials, neighbors and potential donors to ruin her.

"They are alleging I am a thief or a con artist to destroy me and destroy my organization when what they are really doing is destroying the lives of many, many people," she said.

Emily Johnston acknowledged sharing information about her sister-in-law's past with others but said she did so only after hearing that Johnston was soliciting funds from churches and other charitable organizations. "These are matters of the public record and they show she is not trustworthy and is bad with money," she said.

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Johnston, a former Miss Lake City, and her husband, Peter, opened South End Motor Co. in 2003 on Savannah Highway to sell used Mercedes. The dealership later folded and an investor obtained a judgment of $400,000 against the couple that has yet to be paid, according to court documents. They also left behind tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid bills to private schools, publications and businesses, court records show.

At least two businesses have lodged complaints with police about worthless checks written by Johnston this year, and she was arrested on a check fraud charge in Berkeley County on Sept. 23, police records show.

Johnston said the judgments and liens stem from her efforts to save her business and marriage during a trying time but that they have no bearing on Faith Haven.

Johnston said she does not draw a salary from Faith Haven. She declined to discuss the organization's budget or details of her income. She offered only that she and her four children received monthly payments and benefits from her husband. She said her personal life is personal and insisted money problems are not an issue for Faith Haven.

Still, Barry Waldrop, a local caterer and event planner who volunteers at the home, said Faith Haven has ceased to be a healthy place for alcoholics and addicts going through a very fragile time in their lives. He has taken three of the tenants into his own home rather than let them stay at Faith Haven. Another volunteer has done the same.

"I would take all of them with me if I could," Waldrop said.

Reach Glenn Smith at 937-5556 or gsmith@postandcourier.com.