Half Way House

With the activities you are describing I would think the DA would be interested in some pictures of the kids doing this. I would call someone over the head of the director of this program. Obviously the young people are not making good choices and need to be in a place with much more supervision. Normally places do not let the kids in their charge have this kind of freedom, plus if they were in JH for drugs they would be doing drug testing frequently. Something seems off here.

We had an adult halfway house in our neighborhood. Literally down the street. We hated it. Yes, yes, they are human too and deserve love, blah blah blah. Call me a hard hearted -itch if you like. We work way too hard to buy our house to watch that riff raff sit on our neighbors' stone fences, drinking beverages out of paper sacks all day long. We kept protesting to the HOA and to the police. Eventually the house was forced to close and the people were moved. The final straw was when my husband called me at work and said, "Gee, I didn't know any of them could stay sober long enough to hop a fence but since I am watching a robbery in process, I guess I misjudged their talents." My husband actually watched two of those idiots hop a neighbor's fence and then pitch full pillowcases back over the fence after they were done with their little escapade. He called the police and had to act as a witness to the whole incident. We didn't put up with it and neither should you if it bothers you. It takes a village to raise a child and it takes a neighborhood to ensure everyone's safety.

We have an adult half way house down the street (I mean, like 5 miles down off the busy main road, not really in our neighborhood). Those guys are always bumming change and acting insane (literally, like yelling at shoes and stuff). A lot of the store owners in the area put up no loitering signs, and that helped a bit (because then they had just cause to call the police)...

In our old neighborhood, we did have a house with 4 registered sex offenders living together. Our neighborhood got together and petitioned and they were forced to move. My point is, it's been done, OR, the no loitering thing works as well.

No plan is fool proof. Best you can do is document everything and continue to notify the police of any and all criminal activity you witness.

I am sorry but if they are teens can you not attempt to help mentor them instead of telling them they are trash and you want them gone? They are teens in need of help - see if the adults in your precious neighborhood can get together and do some good instead of harm

Having the HOA board involved is definitely one way to go but it ultimately alienates these kids from integrating into society. The easiest thing to do is say not in my back yard and try to ignore them. They are in your neighborhood, how much would it take for you to develop a relationship with them, no all but some. Perhaps you can teach them somethings as well as learn from them.

If they are already in a half way house, they may come from some varied backgrounds which may include family that just doesn't care or is ill-equipped to deal with you emotionally, financially and physically. Lavishing some one with love seems to help in many cases.

This is what I do in my neighborhood and it seems to help. I always speak to them and encourage them to speak respectfully back. I know the names of the kids and even know some of thier birthdays. They never mistake my kindness for weakness and show me the utmost respect even when they are struggling. I think I help them and I have learned so much from them about the different experiences they have shared with me. Not every child has a beautiful loving beginning, should they be discarded because of it?

Are they licensed as such? Is the home zoned to be a half way house? Call Zoning and check. It is likely you live in a "single family residence".

We have had several here and they usually get shut down because they are not properly zoned.

I would love to answer w/my rose colored glasses on and say it wouldn't bother me, but tbh I'd hate it. If they aren't supervised, they'll act on their boredom and bored kids leads to trouble, esp the ones who have issues to land them in a halfway house to begin with.

But the reality is, unless its illegal to have one on your street, there isn't anything you could do about it. Just keep everything locked!

Wow. WHO is the owner renting it TO? An agency? Or just the kids. I would think if they are minors, it is a supervised setting with rules, and curfews to be followed. Do your homework before you start making waves. Truthfully, it doesn't sound like a "halfway house" to me.

I would look into the regulations of the HOA.

if the kids are not being supervised properly - then it is NOT a half-way house. A half-way house is SUPPOSED to help them re-adjust to society and become PRODUCTIVE and RESPONSIBLE citizens, not heathens.

If the sheriffs department has been there that many times - you may be able to petition the county to close the place and deem it unsafe...

The more you allow things like this to happen in your neighborhood - the more people just close their door to it and put up wrought iron window guards - it will continue to happen....hold the people who are supposed to be running the place accountable.

Search on line property records and find out who owns the home. Is it an individual who is leasing it to the people/organization that runs the home, or is it an organization/company.

Find out if it is part of a hospital out patient program, or a non-profit, or the justice system - some one has to be in charge of the program. These are the people that you must contact. Do a web search for the street address - that may link you to the parent organization of the program.

I agree that youth, especially, deserve a chance to get straight, but from what you are saying, this is not a program that is helping those kids. And for that reason alone you, your neighbors,and the HOA should investigate further.