From the Jackson, TN, Sun:

Residents of North Madison County in Tennessee have organized in opposition to a proposal to build group homes there for people with developmental disabilities, arguing that the homes would drive down property values and bring undesirable people into their neighborhoods.

The homes are planned to replace an aging, institutional-style facility that is being closed in the wake of a federal lawsuit over the treatment of people with disabilities in the state.

Related op-ed: Developmentally disabled have rights, just like everybody else — By Peter Watson. An excerpt:

To me, the issue is, do these people have a right to live in a decent home in a decent neighborhood? To me, the answer is yes.

You know, it wasn’t so long ago that similar arguments were used to keep blacks out of nice neighborhoods. But thanks to integration and the federal Fair Housing Act, blacks were able to move into those neighborhoods, and the world didn’t end.

… People who are opposed to this project need to take a deep breath and relax. The people who will live in these homes are no threat to anyone. And besides, there’s nothing that can be done to stop these homes from being built. The company behind these homes, Resource Housing of America, has every right to build. It isn’t just me who says so, either. It’s the (federal) law.

Earlier post here.

This entry was posted on Monday, September 29th, 2008 at 7:20 pm and is filed under group homes, intellectual/developmental disabilities, public attitudes, race, stereotypes, stigma. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.  Email This Post