Virginia group home plan withdrawn amid neighborhood hostility
September 21st, 2009From the Fredericksburg [VA] Freelance Star and the Culpeper [VA] Star Exponent:
A community service board in Northern Virginia dropped plans to set up a group home for adults with intellectual disabilities after neighbors complained vehemently to the local board of supervisors.
The Rappahannock-Rapidan Community Services Board (RRCSB) had proposed converting a foreclosed home in a rural neighborhood into a supervised group home for a handful of adults with developmental disabilities who had no criminal backgrounds.
Members of the neighborhood voiced concern that a group home would lead to decreased property values, compromised neighborhood safety, a violation of neighborhood covenants, lost insurance coverage, and safety problems for the residents with disabilities.
One woman promised that she “would be the neighbor from hell” if the group home was established on her street.
See also:
Editorial: We hope the RRCSB can find suitable group home – Culpeper [VA] Star Exponent
… These people are not criminals or druggies. They are developmentally disabled adults who simply need help doing the things most of us take for granted.
… Living among the rest of society is key to the well-being of developmentally disabled people, which is why the board considered the house in the first place. It works well at other RRCSB homes in the area, not to mention the hundreds of homes nationwide run by The Arc and other such organizations.
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September 25th, 2009 at 8:23 am
This seems to be a discrimation issue – not a pro-life issue.
September 24th, 2009 at 2:38 pm
Tim,
You run in different pro-life circles than I do. The pro-life people I know are against the death penalty. I am in agreement about the “neighbor from hell”. I have no idea why it prompted a swipe at the pro-life movement.
September 24th, 2009 at 9:38 am
Oddly enough Ellen, your assumption that Pro-life people tend to respect life at all stages is just as unfounded a claim as you say the previous poster’s comment is. I know a very large group of Pro-life people who also support the death penalty.
I think we can all find common ground in agreeing that “the neighbor from hell” is someone none of us would want to live next to anyways. And thats what this article was about.
September 23rd, 2009 at 7:11 am
Hannah, why would you think the neighbor is pro-life? Pro-life people tend to respect life at all stages. Your statement seems intolerant and prejudiced, just like these neighbors.
September 22nd, 2009 at 10:53 pm
Funny, bet you anything that the self proclaimed neighbor from hell is also someone who is pro-life and wouldn’t want to abort any babies. See where I’m going with this? You can’t be pro-life and only care about the “perfect” babies being aborted. You need to care about all the babies. And, some of these babies grow up and turn into adults with disabilities. They’re not garbage you can just throw away because they’re not appealing to you. They’re human beings, they having feelings, they understand when you are mocking them and they can feel your hatred.
As the mom of a child with special needs I feel sorry for the neighbor from hell. She’s a small-minded empty shell of a person. Bet Jesus is really disappointed in her also, along with her entire neighborhood.
September 21st, 2009 at 1:23 pm
In NY, the state takes a zero-tolerance position about neighborhoods that behave this way. There is NO evidence of decreasing property values (in fact the opposite usually happens with these regulated, well-maintained homes in the area), NO evidence of increased crime rates or anything else. The only issue ever is increased traffic — which they address. The state does not accept any of these arguments against placement, and threats are prosecuted. I don’t always agree with my state, but on this issue they are playing it right.
The VA folks should fight this. Capitulating to bullies and having that show up in the press guarantees further bullying — it has been publicized as a strategy that works. They need to take it on in some way to turn it around for everyone.