EUSTIS, Fla.—A social media post about a Eustis group home set off a firestorm of comments earlier this week in the popular Facebook group Eustis FL Word of Mouth.
A member of the group posted about an interaction she had with young resident of the home and expressed her concerns that the child may have been abused. Inside Lake reached out to Eustis Police Chief Craig Capri and he said “there are no signs of abuse” at the Press Forward group home that houses teen and preteen girls. “It doesn’t appear any there is any abuse or neglect,” Capri told Inside Lake. “Everything is in compliance.”
The house, located at 1600 East Orange Avenue, has been the site of numerous calls for service, Capri said, and many of the residents suffer from mental health issues. He met with the owner of Press Forward this week to discuss how they can work together to reduce the number of calls for service. Last month, a 15-year-old girl was reported missing from the facility after she was picked up by an 18-year-old female. Both were later found safe and the staff member who allowed the 15-year-old to leave with the 18-year-old was fired from the facility, Capri said.
The Department of Children and Families (DCF) inspected the facility following the report of the missing teen and they are “involved,” Capri said. “The safety of the children is the most important.”
