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NOT IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD

© Bea Sheftel

Many people feel sympathetic for those who are homeless. They support the need for homeless shelters. The problem arises when the homeless shelter is proposed for a rural neighborhood.

That is what is happening in Rockville, Connecticut. The present shelter is in a warehouse like facility in the business district close to other social agencies. The proposal is to move the shelter to a more home-like setting with private rooms for homeless families. The location would be a large, older home that would be renovated for this purpose; only the neighbors are against it.

Moving the shelter out of the present facilities would put in an area away from the human resource facilities and close to one and two family homes and schools. Most of the residents who bought the older homes in this section of time are fixing up their homes and revitalizing their neighborhoods.

The question being asked is should a homeless shelter be a temporary place or a long-term residence? Do most homeless people even need or want a long-term residence? The current homeless shelter meets the immediate needs of those who are homeless, particularly during the cold weather. Many of the shelter's occupants are people who have come to the shelter more than once and stayed during the winter. These are often transients who move on during the warmer weather, or those with short-term needs who find housing. Shelters, by their very nature are not supposed to be long term, nor are they boarding houses for the indigent.

The problem of privacy also is a problem of security. While many people who are homeless are simply down on their luck, others are there for an assortment of problems such as alcoholism and drugs. Shelter supervisors prefer the larger open rooms for security reasons, yet homeless women with children need to be separated from the general population.

Moving to a home would not solve the problems of the homeless. The facility would be smaller and cut off some of the winter transients. It would be better to use the current facility, which has a second floor, and divide that area for families with children.

If a homeless shelter is put in a strictly residential area, opponents say, it would disrupt the neighborhood. Certainly most homeowners would worry about the safety of their children, their homes, and the value of their homes if a homeless shelter were next door or nearby.

What do you think? Where should homeless shelters be built? Is there a homeless shelter in your town? If so, where is it?

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