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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels June 10, 2004 Maple Street neighbors reassured By Steve Zimmerman Ashland Daily Tidings What started off as a contentious meeting about the new building on Maple Street that will house mentally-ill patients ended quietly with most neighbors feeling more educated about Jackson House. Early in the meeting, angry neighbors constantly shouted down speakers from the State Psychiatric Review Board, Jackson County and administrators of the new building. They said their biggest concern was that no one had told them about plans for the house at 330 Maple St. They also feared that convicted felons would be loose in their neighborhood. Of the 12 residents who begin moving into the home Monday, half have criminal records and the others were deemed unable to care for themselves outside of a state hospital. But after the meeting, many of those same neighbors said they were more comfortable with Jackson House and who it will house. Resident Reider Peterson said that after hearing what the administrators and professionals said, he thought he had nothing to fear from the residents to be housed at Jackson House. "I was here for the meeting last Wednesday as well," he said. "It helped to hear Mary Claire (Buckley, executive director of the Psychiatric Security Review Board) talk about how these people were screened to come to a home like this. I think my fears were allayed considerably." Buckley said he was happy to hear that people were willing, by the end of the meeting, to be a part of the running of the facility. "I think it will make a world of difference," she said. "I think once you can identify on an individual basis with these folks, it alleviates the fears. These are human beings with an illness that affects their brain." Peterson said not knowing how closely the residents were going to be supervised was a big concern. He said he was surprised at how long they had been in the state hospital. There was some talk of forming a committee made up of staff and residents. Peterson wholeheartedly embraced that action. "I will certainly be part of a committee, and since I live so close (just across the street), I will try to come over here and visit." Another resident, Shelly Simmons, said she too came with reservations about how the process unfolded. She said she thought neighbors should have been notified in advance of the change in use for the building. But after the meeting, she was on board with the home. "I read about it in the paper on Monday," she said. "It is not so much fear, it was the fact they didn't present it to the community, so we could address these issues before the clients move in." She said the fears of neighbors could have been taken away by holding an earlier meeting. "I think fear is a lot in your head and not in reality," Simmons said. Buckley said a basic misunderstanding is that the residents are taking their first step back into the community, and so they do not want to make a mistake that could send them back to the hospital. "These people have been in the state hospital, they have done their treatment, and they look forward to getting out of that facility," she said. "The last thing they want to do is anything that could make them return. I think it was unfortunate that some of this was generated by the language that was used in the newspaper. Saying they were the criminally insane incites and excites people, when in fact, we take the view that these are human beings who because of their illness, committed crimes in the past." Buckley said the residents of the home have been very well screened. "They have completed a treatment program successfully in a state hospital that has known them for years, a community that has independently evaluated them and a board whose primary goal is to protect the public," she said. "All agree these people are ready to leave the hospital and that should make neighborhood residents feel better." The 12 residents will call the building home until a new home is completed in Medford in late spring 2005. DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams