» It’s unfortunate to see such opposition to a proposed residence for the developmentally disabled.
In communities nationwide, people with developmental disabilities live in peace with their neighbors.
Many are contributing members of society who hold down jobs and always wear a smile.
It seems people like that should not only be welcomed but viewed as inspirational. Sadly, the only thing the Rappahannock-Rapidan Community Services Board’s recently proposed group home inspired was heated opposition.
The Village at Griffinsburg Homeowners Association was successful in getting the board to back off its plan to convert a foreclosed house on Conner Drive into a group home to serve adults with developmental disabilities.
Some neighbors said the RRCSB snuck up on them with the plan. Others said nearby traffic, the lack of sidewalks, no lighting and presence of a lake made the neighborhood unsafe for disabled people.
One person even said the Sheriff’s Office ought to plant a car in the neighborhood if the proposal passed, warning she’d be “the neighbor from hell.”
That simply shows the level of misunderstanding about what was proposed. 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.
The proposal called for six of them to live in the house, which has a large yard and would have been staffed by RRCSB 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Staff members would have accompanied them any time they left the house.
And you can bet RRCSB would have made sure the house complied with every HOA regulation.
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.
We hope RRCSB can find a suitable house in the area without the NIMBYism. There has to be a place in Culpeper for this service.
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