The Christian group Teen Challenge – which made attempts to open a drug rehabilitation centre in several Newfoundland communities– appears to have found a home in Moncton.

Teen Challenge made three attempts to set up a drug-treatment centre in Newfoundland, but was rebuffed each time by potential neighbours.

Director Dan Morand says the organization is now poised to buy a building near Moncton that will treat adult male addicts.

Morand says the treatment centre will be Teen Challenge's second largest in Canada and its first in the Atlantic region. He says frustrations with communities in Newfoundland and Labrador forced him to started looking for a building to house the centre in Moncton.

In April, Teen Challenge backed away from a plan to open a centre in Gander, after similar failed attempts in Glenwood and in Manuels, Conception Bay South.

"A lot of them really didn't know who we were," Morand said. "The way I looked at it was that people were hesitant to buy into it."

Turnings, a St. John's organization that counsels drug addicts, also had reservations about the organization, even though Turnings has been pushing for better drug treatment facilities.

Co-ordinator Ron Fitzpatrick admits Teen Challenge has a high success rate. However, he believes it focuses too much on religion and not enough on rehab.

"[There is] more involved than just praying to God and asking for help," Fitzpatrick said.

"You need to be hooked up with psychologists, psychiatrists … different people who can support you to openly talk about that and get over it."

The Moncton centre is scheduled to open this spring.