Shelters Take Toll on Neighborhoods

* Many people believe in homes for the disadvantaged, but “not in my back yard” (“Neighbors Divided by Shelter,” Aug. 14).

After working in several and starting and running one of my own, I’d have to agree. Many of these homes are noisy, boring, dirty, with nonstop TV, no privacy and mutual abuse among the disadvantaged residents of the home. There is a lot of this because of their “rights,” and because it’s easier for staff to go along with it. It’s glorified baby-sitting. The disadvantaged vegetate and staffs burn out.

Neighbors, too, chafe over parking, yelling, profanity, panhandling, poor grooming and attire, depressed behavior and traffic in and out of the house.

If the staff of a home wants to do more than baby-sit, they are in for a difficult and thankless job. They have to fight the disadvantaged, the relatives, sometimes the neighbors, but most of all, permissive social workers, who take the side of the disadvantaged in every dispute (as do the media).

These homes should be outside residential neighborhoods unless they are an overwhelming asset. They should be run and monitored by competing private agencies. They should require the disadvantaged hold part- or full-time work in sheltered workshops or regular employment; and they should use a no-nonsense approach to teaching traditional values.

AL GARNER

Midway City