Abstract
The ethics and efficacy of notifying neighbors in advance of the establishment of group housing for the chronically mentally ill has generated much controversy, and recent federal anti-discrimination legislation has supported its discontinuation. In this study, representatives from 72 Massachusetts mental health agencies were interviewed regarding the siting strategies used in their most recent group housing development, and the community responses to that site. A majority of agencies were found to have used advance notification, and there was a significant association between notifying neighbors and community opposition. Agencies using advance notification were also significantly more likely to initiate post-siting community outreach activities.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Anello, R., & Shuster, T. (1985). Community Relations Strategies. NY: Community Service Society of New York.
Baron, R.C. (1981). Changing public attitudes about the mentally ill in the community. Hospital and Community Psychiatry, 32(2), 173-178
Baron, R.C., & Piasecki, J.R. (1981). The community versus community care. In R. Budson (Ed.). New Directions for Mental Health Services: Issues in Community Residential Care, no. 11. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Byalin, K., & Harawitz, G. (1988). State government at the grass roots: A community relations approach to mental health program development. Community Mental Health Journal, 24(3), 196-204.
Burke, E. M. (1978). A Participatory Approach to Urban Planning. NY: Human Sciences Press.
Carling, P.J., & Wilson, S.F. (1988). Strategies for state mental health directors in implementing supported housing (Report of the Denver Meeting on Implementations of Supported Housing). Burlington, VT: University of Vermont, Center for Community Change through Housing and Support.
Community Residences Information Program (1981). Gaining Community Acceptance. White Plains, NY: Westchester Community Service Council, Inc.
Community Residences Information Program (1989). In My Hometown. White Plains, NY: Community Information Services Program (CRISP).
Currie, R., Trute, B., Tefft, B., & Segall, A. (1989). Maybe on my street: The politics of community placement of the mentally disabled. Urban Affairs Quarterly, 25(2), 298-321.
Davidson, J.L. (1982). Balancing required resources and neighborhood opposition in community-based treatment center neighborhoods. Social Service Review, March, 55-71.
Dear, M.J. (1977). Impact of mental health facilities on property values. Community Mental Health Journal, 13, 150-157.
Dear, M.J. (1991). Gaining Community Acceptance. Princeton, NJ: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Dear, M.J. (1992). Understanding and overcoming the NIMBY syndrome. Journal of the American Planning Association, 58(3), 288-300.
Dear, M.J., & Laws, G. (1986). Anatomy of a decision: Recent land-use zoning appeals and their effect on group home location in Ontario. Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health, 5(1), 5-17.
Dear, M.J., & Taylor, S.M. (1982). Not On Our Street: Community Attitudes Toward Mental Health Care. London: Pion.
Earls, M., & Nelson, G. (1988). The relationship between long-term psychiatric clients' psychological well-being and their perceptions of housing and social support. American Journal of Community Psychology, 16, 279-293.
Erickson, D.H., Beiser, M.A., Iacono, W.G., Fleming, J.A.E., & Lin, T. (1989). The role of social relationships in the course of first-episode schizophrenia and affective disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry, 146(11), 1456-1461.
Goering, P., Durbin, J., Foster, R., Boyles, S., Babiak, T., & Lancee, B. (1992). Social networks of residents in supportive housing. Community Mental Health Journal, 28(3), 199-214.
Graham, L., & Hogan, R. (1990). Social class and tactics: Neighborhood opposition to group homes. The Sociological Quarterly, 31(4), 513-529.
Hogan, M.F., & Carling, P.J. (1992). Normal housing: A key element of a supported housing approach for people with psychiatric disabilities. Community Mental Health Journal, 28(3), 215-226.
Hogan, R. (1986a). Gaining community support for group homes. Community Mental Health Journal, 22(2), 117-126.
Hogan, R. (1986b). Community opposition to group homes. Social Science Quarterly, 67(2), 442-49.
Homebase. (1990, January). Neighbors After All—Community Acceptance Strategies for Siting Housing and Services for Homeless People. San Francisco: Homebase.
Livingston, J.A., & Srebnick, D. (1991). States' strategies for promoting supported housing for persons with psychiatric disabilities. Hospital and Community Psychiatry, 42(11), 1116-19.
Moxley, D.O. (1988). Exploring the validity of social network indicators for use in psychosocial rehabilitation. Psychosocial Rehabilitation Journal, 11(3), 3-10.
Rabkin, J.G. (1980). Determinants of public attitudes toward mental illness: a review of the literature. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 10, 9-33.
Segal, S., & Aviram, U. (1978). The Mentally Ill in Community-Based Sheltered Care. New York: Wiley.
Segal, S.P., Baumohl, J., & Moyles, E.W. (1980, December). Neighborhood types and community reaction to the mentally ill: A paradox of intensity. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 21, 345-359.
Seltzer, M. (1984, January). Correlates of community opposition to community residences for mentally retarded persons. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 89, 1-8.
Taylor, S.M., Hall, G.B., Hughes, R.C., & Dear, M.J. (1984). Predicting community reaction to mental health facilities. American Planning Association Journal, Winter, 36-47.
Teplin, L.A. (1985). The criminality of the mentally ill: a dangerous misconception. American Journal of Psychiatry, 142, 593-99.
Trute, B., & Segal, S. (1976). Census tract predictors and the social integration of sheltered care residents. Social Psychiatry, 11, 153-161.
Wagner, C.A., & Mitchell, C.M. (1980). Group homes and property values: A second look. Metropolitan Human Services Commission, Columbus, Ohio.
Weber, D.E. (1978). Neighborhood entry in group home development. Child Welfare, LVII, 627-642.
Wenocur, S., & Belcher, J.R. (August 1990). Strategies for overcoming barriers to community-based housing for the chronically mentally ill. Community Mental Health Journal, 26(4), 319-333.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Zippay, A. Trends in Siting Strategies. Community Ment Health J 33, 301–310 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1025095007604
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1025095007604