People Afraid Of Troubled Teens

Folks tend to get alarmed if troubled teens move into the neighborhood. Even a Christian based girl’s boarding school for troubled teens is having a tough way to go convincing their prospective neighbors that their students do not represent a danger. “It’s redemption. It’s a blight on the neighborhood. It’s the Christian thing to do. It’ll lower property values. Those were just a few of the arguments the Botetourt County Planning Commission heard during a three-hour review of a request to bring in a private boarding school for troubled girls.”

Cont...

It is quite understandable for a community to become alarmed with the prospect of a group of troubled teenagers becoming neighbors. Yet, by the same token, citizens complain about juvenile crime. Then they complain about juveniles being unfairly or unnecessarily incarcerated. So when you have a school that can save a teen from being thrown in a juvenile jail while rehabilitating them to be productive, it bears consideration. “The boarding school would not be a drug treatment program or a detention or detox facility. Prospective students with demonstrated problems with alcohol or drugs would have to go through a separate program before admission to the school. “We have a beautiful community and we want it to stay that way. I agree with my neighbors that we don’t want harm or ruin to come to our citizens,” he said. “But I don’t want to say I’m not helping young people in my own Christian neighborhood.” (unknown source) By Ann Walker