Concerns over a group home for the mentally ill slated to open on a cul-de-sac off of Swifts Beach Road triggered an emotional outpouring from residents during a public information session Monday morning.

Frustration has been mounting for weeks among residents of the Beaver Meadows subdivision, which consists of more than 20 homes on two cul-de-sacs - Lynne Road and Bachant Way.

At the first public information session on the group home, Fellowship Health Resources, which operates the group home, said patients will be arriving in less than two weeks.

“I am there alone, and I am scared to death,” Lynne Road resident Lori Murphy said with tears in her eyes. Murphy, whose husband is a military officer, is often left alone caring for her 2-year-old and 5-year-old children.

The group home, located at 7 Lynne Road, is being renovated by Acushnet-based builder Jeff White and will be leased to Fellowship Health Resources, after Fellowship was awarded a contract with the state Department of Mental Health to operate this home.

Fellowship officials say they plan to open a six-bed "therapeutic respite" program for patients with mental illnesses and disorders. Patients will live at the home for anywhere from a week to 30 days. Representatives from the Department of Metal Health and Fellowship were on hand Monday morning.

Department of Mental Health representative Bob Jope said the patients will be people who already live in the community or who have been cleared by medical professionals to re-enter the community. Jope said the people living at this home might suffer from depression, anxiety, or bi-polar disorder.

“These are not people in crisis,” he explained. “These are folks you would see around town anyway.”

Jope said patients will be allow to walk around the neighborhood unmonitored.

Residents asked if Fellowship or the Department of Mental Health could guaranteed that sex offenders would not be patients.

“If it happened, it would be very rare,” responded Joyce O’Connor from the Department of Mental Health. “We are not going to have seriously dangerous folks.”

Jope added that, if a sex offender were to stay at the home, he or she would be brought to the Police Department and registered.

Neighbors said that's little consolation.

“I don’t understand how you can sleep at night with all the children that live in this neighborhood,” pleaded a visibly upset Daniela Tolle, of 23 Lynne Road. “I have a 12-year-old daughter! If anything ever happened to her, it is going to be a huge problem!”

Fellowship Health Resources representatives pointed out that the agency has been in operation for more than 30 years and that safety is a top priority.

Fellowship's chief operating officer, Beth Folcarelli, noted that all of the company’s group homes are located in residential communities. She said residents who live next to the homes often start out apprehensive.

“We usually address the public three weeks before we open,” Folcarelli said, dismissing claims that the company has been less than forthcoming with information. “We have had very bad reactions to information sessions. I don’t think we have ever had a successful one. They usually start out like this one… Give it time.”

Folcarelli said that, over time, neighbors of the company’s other homes view it as a part of the neighborhood.

“We don’t notify the community as if we are asking for permission,” Department of Health representative Buddy Baker-Smith added.

In addition to the concerns residents raised about their safety, they also voiced concern that the arrival of the home would change the atmosphere of the neighborhood. Residents said they're worried about the program being located in their small neighborhood.

“The turn-around is the most concerning,” Murphy said. “We are never going to feel comfortable around these people, because they are always leaving.”

Murphy pointed out that the home could receive 24 new people each month under Fellowship’s guidelines.

Folcarelli told the crowd of a dozen residents and town officials that the home will be staffed by at least two trained employees 24/7.  And, while residents may not get to know the patients, they will get to know the staff.

Jope added that the patients reponded well to treatment in residential communities, which is one of the reasons Fellowship chose Wareham for the home.

Neighbors are also angry that builder White did not get permission from the Beaver Meadows Homeowners' Association before renovating the home. They say the addition he put on the house broke the development's covenants.

White did not respond to requests for comment, nor did he attend the Monday morning meeting.

Myles Burke, director of Inspectional Services, says the town's hands are tied since the home falls under state licensure and is therefore exempt from local zoning regulations.

Despite the mounting concerns, Denise Silvia, regional director for Fellowship Health Resources, said furniture will be moved in on Wednesday and the home will open its doors to patients on July 1.