Home for Mentally Ill Brings Complaints : Thousand Oaks: Neighbors are worried about the safety of children. But officials say such facilities help the men live independently.

A group of Thousand Oaks neighbors fighting a home for mentally ill men complained bitterly to county and city officials Tuesday, saying the facility is a threat to schoolchildren.

Since the County Board of Supervisors approved the lease in November, neighbors of the modest four-bedroom house at 969 Valley High Ave. have tried to overturn a decision allowing the residence to be rented to four mentally ill men.

The meeting, called by supervisors at the request of the neighbors, drew about 70 people, most of them opposed to the home.

Some opponents characterized the residents as unstable people who may threaten children on their way to and from school. Others said the presence of mentally ill patients could lead to crime. And several said they want the home to be supervised at all times.

“We absolutely demand that they be supervised 24 hours a day. We refuse to be the policemen and watchdogs for this,” homeowner Carole Schattke said before the meeting.

Schattke helped gather signatures from 228 neighbors on petitions asking the county to prevent the facility from opening. The men have been living there for nearly four weeks.

Another neighbor, Betty Payson, 62, said she was angry that officials, including Supervisor Maria VanderKolk, allowed mental patients to move next to families with small children.

“I have lived here 28 years and I really resent the fact that our newly elected supervisor could say that it’s none of our business what goes on in our neighborhood,” Payson said.

But VanderKolk said: “These homes across the county . . . in no way disrupt neighborhood life. Anybody should be able to rent a home without scrutiny from the entire neighborhood.”

County officials say such homes encourage patients with mild forms of mental illness, such as depression and schizophrenia, to lead independent lives.

“These people are . . . very close to living independently,” said Randy Feltman, Ventura County mental health director. “There’s no one that provides care and supervision because these people really don’t need that.

“They’re not dangerous. They’re not using drugs. They’re not aggressive. They’re not involved in unlawful behavior.”

Feltman said the house is designed for individuals who need counseling and may be on medication. Residents eat together and own some of their own furniture. Two residents work outside the home.

Feltman said the house, whose owner has not been publicly identified, is one of 20 in the county. The county’s mental health department has operated such programs for 10 years, he said. Most of the homes are in Ventura and Oxnard, but there are also homes in Camarillo and Simi Valley.

Thousand Oaks does not yet have a home for women, although the county plans to open one in the near future, Feltman said.

Most of the people chosen for the programs already live with their parents or in private homes.

The Thousand Oaks house is occupied by men in their 20s and 30s. One of them said he was considering renting a room on his own before he decided to move in with the others, who each pay $300 a month in rent.

“We’re not convicts or escaped mental patients or anything,” said Robert, 27, who used to live in Newbury Park. “I think it’s a shame that people around here are opposing us. They haven’t even come to meet us.”

Robert says he takes medication to fight depression.

Another resident, David, 36, used to live in Westlake with his parents before he moved. He said he has been seeing a therapist for 10 years because he sometimes feels paranoid and often gets depressed.

Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein “may be dangerous. President Bush might be dangerous. But I’m not dangerous,” David said.

Robert and David asked that their last names not be used.