Posted on 09/24/2004 10:17:55 PM PDT by OldBlondBabe
I found out over the summer that a house on my street (just a handful of houses away) is now a "group home". According to another neighbor the residents are "highly to moderately trainable adults". Supposedly there is one adult supervisor there for about every 4-5 residents.
There has already been at least one incident; one of the residents was off his meds, flopping around on the neighbors pool cover and wouldn't leave. I've just recently found out that one of the residents is on the Public Sex Offender Registry---his offense, criminal sexual conduct- third degree (multi variables.)
I live in an affluent suburb of Detroit, in Oakland County. The homes here average around $300,000...it's a nice area.
I'm looking for advice and guidance. I have kids,one of which is a 13-year old girl. Thanks in advance for your help and direction.
Do a Megan's list search - You won't want any!
If she were were worried about mentally retarded people, she wouldn't be on here.
The harm done by do-gooders is immeasurable and immutable; it's just their nature.
Because the group that is trying to claim public land on which to camp in outlying communities is called "SEATTTLE HOUSING AND RESOURCE EFFORT". SHARE is a group that started in Seattle, and Seattle has been trying to get rid of them for years. Their tents have been bulldozed, and they have caused so much trouble that now they are limited to ONE Tent City within the city limits - so they're looking OUTSIDE the city limits. They have even said they need to "teach [us] a lesson"; the residents have said they want to live somewhere nice (doesn't everybody?), and have complained that they aren't visible enough because the current camp location is tucked away near a business park.
There are resources for homeless people in our eastside communities, but they actually try to help people find real housing, and treat the root of their problems.
Where do you think the homeless people came from?
Because of Seattle's policies and our weather, they are coming from Colorado, Tennessee, Ohio, even Florida. I have been told that "Dignity Village" in Portland is full, and they are directing people up here. On a recent radio program broadcast from Tent City, the (liberal, btw) host interviewed many people who had recently arrived here from out-of-state. Several simply said they didn't want to pay rent. I have only heard of a few from our general area; interestingly, one of them was arrested on an outstanding domestic violence warrant, the victim being his girlfriend, another camp resident. His father and his father's girlfriend were also living in an area tent city.
I don't think the county should be able to shuffle these people around and move them onto public land in my neighborhood, with no resources to treat addiction problems or mental illness. SHARE's version of tent city doesn't even demand positive IDENTIFICATION. There have been multiple felony arrests of camp residents, and in its last location, a sex offender who had raped a young girl was found to be living in Tent City...at that time, the camp shared a boundary with a school playground.
They're not from my community, and the liberal attitude - that is part of Seattle, not the eastside - is what has attracted these people.
Prtivate property rights are not the same as public use of property that interferes with the use of private property.
Blame Clinton and Cisneros; look it up.
Which agency owns the home?
I blame the people who voted to pass the funding for it.
The stark truth is that these people, the predator class, are immune to treatment or redirection, we can only isolate or remove them; sadly, we have the will to do neither.
The sex offender is a main concern. FYI, have a couple of group homes in my neighborhood. The residents are not the problem in the 'hood. The problems come from the almightly, can do no evil homeowners who were probably major pains in the you know where when they were renters.
Better if they never lived at all.
I would have to be zoned for this I think. It's a business.
Being a drunk doesn't make one an expert on the causes and consequences of alcoholism.
Understandable response, but it remains an experiment and looks like it will prove to be a huge failure; people cluster by culture and separate by difference and to intrude on this process is always disruptive.
I'm painfully aware of this. The ONLY thing that has made any difference has been to forgive. Time will tell, but I believe I am finally on the right path.
The stark truth is that these people, the predator class, are immune to treatment or redirection, we can only isolate or remove them; sadly, we have the will to do neither.
My thesis throughout this thread has been twofold. First, that there are studies that indicate the recidivism rates among sex offenders warrant continuing to treat these individuals, with reintroduction into normal society as the ultimate goal for some. I do not dispute that habitual or violent sex offenders will always be a danger to society, and these individuals must be treated differently.
Secondly, we must change our attitudes about our children. They must be taught about evil and danger in the world, and how to deal it. We must give them the knowledge and tools to keep themselves safe.
Interesting thread.
I would just like to comment that it's understandable to be concerned about a registered sex offender living nearby.
I live in Florida so our laws may be slightly different. You may have recouse pursuant to the laws of your state, I don't know.
However, I would like to point out that if this person is registered, the law is working it's purpose, which is to notify his/her neighbors of his presence and the danger involved.
But more importantly, I would like to point out that every one of these "registered sex offenders" had to commit a FIRST OFFENSE before which he/she was not registered. My point is, you really never know who may or may not have the inclination to commit ANY violent crime, be it a sex crime or otherwise. Teaching your children to love life and all the variety it offers, and to love God's creation, has to be balanced with lessons of personal safety and responsibility.
I wouldn't really worry so much about the sex offenders we know, I'd worry more about all those other neighbors you don't know. Every time some freak commits a heinous act, you always have the neighbors going "he/she was so quiet and pleasant, I'm just shocked!!!".
BTW, I have a registered sex offender living in my neighborhood!
Good luck! GG
How do we balance information against the instillation of fear?
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