NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – The state Department of Mental Health & Developmental Disabilities has ordered the closing of what it calls two unlicensed personal care facilities run by a Christian group that counsels gays and lesbians to give up homosexuality.

The state inspected two facilities in Memphis on Aug. 19 and determined Love In Action International Inc. was providing housing, meals and personal care for mentally ill patients without a license, according to a subsequent letter to the organization from the Department of Mental Health.

The department gave Love In Action until Sept. 23 to cease operation of the facilities and apply for a state license.

Love In Action spokesperson Gerard Wellman declined to answer questions about the state’s allegations.

“We will be commenting when the time is right,” or when the case is past its initial stage, Wellman said.

Lawyer Nathan Kellum responded to the state on Sept. 14 with a letter acknowledging Love In Action had received the state’s notice and promising to respond fully by the deadline.

“The issue is these being supportive care facilities,” state spokesperson Lola Potter said Monday. “Supportive care must be licensed.”

Former Love In Action client Peterson Toscano said that a house manager for the program told him one of the manager’s responsibilities was dispensing drugs that had been prescribed for participants.

“He told me that it was to keep people from misusing the drugs,” said Toscano, who is now a writer and performer living in Hartford, Conn.

Under state regulations, facilities that dispense medication to patients require a license.

If the organization were to continue operating the facilities past the deadline, it would face criminal penalties that include fines of up to $500 and six months in jail for each day the facilities are determined to be in violation of state laws, Potter said.

The Department of Mental Health’s current action is not the first time Love In Action has drawn the state’s attention.

Earlier this year the Department of Children’s Services investigated a child abuse complaint against Love In Action that was found to be unsubstantiated.

In August the Department of Health determined the group did not need to be licensed as a drug and alcohol treatment program.

John Smid, Love In Action’s executive director, said then that his group does not provide psychological, drug or alcohol counseling, but seeks to help people overcome sexual problems through a stronger Christian faith.

Counseling that would be regulated by the state is “really not our focus,” he said.

Love In Action’s work, particularly with teenagers, has drawn protests from gay rights advocates.