THOUSAND OAKS : Home for Mentally Ill Draws Protest
A group of Thousand Oaks residents is protesting a newly established group home in their neighborhood for four mentally ill adult men.
The County Board of Supervisors received a petition Tuesday signed by 228 residents urging them to discontinue using the house at 969 Valley High Ave. for the four men.
Carl Schattke, a spokesman for the neighbors, said the group home will foster a constant turnover of a transient population. He also questioned whether the men will be properly supervised and the property maintained. He said neighbors have been unable to find out from county mental health officials how severely ill the men are.
County officials have approved a one-year lease with the owner of the house. Several people involved in providing services to the mentally ill applauded the establishment of such group homes Tuesday.
Kate Allen, a member of the Alliance for the Mentally Ill, said there are not enough group homes in the Thousand Oaks area to accommodate the mentally ill people there.
She said the choice is between letting them live in a residential neighborhood under supervision and the care of a physician or forcing them to become homeless. The supervisors took no action on Schattke’s request, but all said such homes are needed and allowed under the law.
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