A friend on Fry found this flyer on her doorstep this morning. I do not know what group distributed this flyer. Halfway house or not, I would not be surprised if there have been a lot of convicted felons at Hidden Village for some time, although I am sure there also are some honorable citizens who live there.
Doug
[flyer begins here]
Are you aware?
Convicted felons are
living in your backyard?
*******
Not in accordance with the Lakewood
zoning laws, the
HIDDEN VILLAGE
APARTMENTS AT 11849
Clifton Blvd. is currently
operating as a half-way
house.
*******
Keep your neighborhood safe---attend
the Lakewood Planning Commission
meeting July 5, 2006 at 7pm at the
Lakewood City Hall Auditorium,
12650 Detroit Avenue to voice your
opposition to the re-zoning of this area.
KEEP LAKEWOOD SAFE!
[flyer ends here]
FYI - Convicted felons in Lakewood
Moderator: Jim O'Bryan
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DougHuntingdon
- Posts: 527
- Joined: Tue Feb 07, 2006 10:29 pm
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Phil Florian
- Posts: 538
- Joined: Fri Jan 20, 2006 4:24 pm
This isn't directly about this flyer, but reading this and other topics on this site I have to voice a grievance about how convicted felons are treated after they have served their sentence and are sent back to society as free men and women.
I think our criminal justice system has some serious flaws in all areas. But the area that has gotten under my craw of late has to do with people who have served their time and "paid their dues" to society, per our laws. I don't want this to include a discussion of sexual predators, as that is an area where crime clearly overlaps with mental illness and while important, it would overshadow a larger problem than a handful of sexual offenders.
I am talking about people who, for whatever reason, turn to stealing from people or using drugs or selling drugs to make their way through life. This is plainly illegal and when caught, such people should be punished to the extent of the law, as well as made ready to return to society as better people than when they left it. Is this an unreasonable expectation to have of our criminal just system?
I think we as citizens have clearly thought that this is too high an expectation.
We put people in jail and when they get out, they are permanently labeled for the rest of their lives, regardless of any strides they make. I am not saying this as a way to pity the criminals. They made their choices and made their mistakes and have to pay for them. But to continue to pay for them long after they have done their penance is ridiculous and I would have to think contributes to the recividism of ex-convicts.
Here is an example: I work with a lady who a number of years ago got involved with drugs and thievery. She was caught, charged with two felonies, paid her dues and was released. She has since tried to get her life back together with more and more difficulties mounting against her. Never mind that these incidents were a mere blip in the entirety of her life. She had led a life without crime before that incident and did so afterwards but she has incredible difficulties getting back on her feet. Many companies won't hire her because of her felony and they legally can do this (sometimes, they are legally compelled to do this). Yet she is expected to get a job and return to society and contribute like everyone else. The system is piled against her from the word "Go"! and if she returns to crime as the only way to make ends meet, especially after taking nearly a decade of trying to get back on her feet, can we blame her? Right now, society can and will blame her and will have no problem sending her back down the path of crime and punishement, a ride that really doesn't end without a lot of luck and timing.
So while I am interested in seeing where this discussion of halfway houses goes, I have to wonder what we expect to do with these folks as they return to society? Wouldn't it be better for the city to take an active role in making the halfway house a success? By continually pushing such places out to areas where people don't have the wherewithal to complain and make a stink we are basically creating a situation for ex-convicts to engage in activities that got them in trouble in the first place.
The segregation of people in our society doesn't stop with criminals. I have worked in the field of supporting people with disabilities for nearly 2 decades and we still get calls from concerned neighbors when a home in a neighborhood is bought for the use of some people with mental retardation to live in. Same with people with mental health as well, I have no doubt.
I guess my bigger question is this: What is the burden of society for people who, for whatever reason (crime, disability, mental illness, etc.), are in some way marked by society as "different" and in doing so prevent them from attaining what the rest of us take for granted? Do we simply pay our taxes and hope things happen behind closed doors...doors preferably hidden in some back corner of the county where no one has to see them?
Sorry for the rambling. It upsets me to no end the labeling that our society engages in and how we as a society build more barriers than destroy them.
I think our criminal justice system has some serious flaws in all areas. But the area that has gotten under my craw of late has to do with people who have served their time and "paid their dues" to society, per our laws. I don't want this to include a discussion of sexual predators, as that is an area where crime clearly overlaps with mental illness and while important, it would overshadow a larger problem than a handful of sexual offenders.
I am talking about people who, for whatever reason, turn to stealing from people or using drugs or selling drugs to make their way through life. This is plainly illegal and when caught, such people should be punished to the extent of the law, as well as made ready to return to society as better people than when they left it. Is this an unreasonable expectation to have of our criminal just system?
I think we as citizens have clearly thought that this is too high an expectation.
We put people in jail and when they get out, they are permanently labeled for the rest of their lives, regardless of any strides they make. I am not saying this as a way to pity the criminals. They made their choices and made their mistakes and have to pay for them. But to continue to pay for them long after they have done their penance is ridiculous and I would have to think contributes to the recividism of ex-convicts.
Here is an example: I work with a lady who a number of years ago got involved with drugs and thievery. She was caught, charged with two felonies, paid her dues and was released. She has since tried to get her life back together with more and more difficulties mounting against her. Never mind that these incidents were a mere blip in the entirety of her life. She had led a life without crime before that incident and did so afterwards but she has incredible difficulties getting back on her feet. Many companies won't hire her because of her felony and they legally can do this (sometimes, they are legally compelled to do this). Yet she is expected to get a job and return to society and contribute like everyone else. The system is piled against her from the word "Go"! and if she returns to crime as the only way to make ends meet, especially after taking nearly a decade of trying to get back on her feet, can we blame her? Right now, society can and will blame her and will have no problem sending her back down the path of crime and punishement, a ride that really doesn't end without a lot of luck and timing.
So while I am interested in seeing where this discussion of halfway houses goes, I have to wonder what we expect to do with these folks as they return to society? Wouldn't it be better for the city to take an active role in making the halfway house a success? By continually pushing such places out to areas where people don't have the wherewithal to complain and make a stink we are basically creating a situation for ex-convicts to engage in activities that got them in trouble in the first place.
The segregation of people in our society doesn't stop with criminals. I have worked in the field of supporting people with disabilities for nearly 2 decades and we still get calls from concerned neighbors when a home in a neighborhood is bought for the use of some people with mental retardation to live in. Same with people with mental health as well, I have no doubt.
I guess my bigger question is this: What is the burden of society for people who, for whatever reason (crime, disability, mental illness, etc.), are in some way marked by society as "different" and in doing so prevent them from attaining what the rest of us take for granted? Do we simply pay our taxes and hope things happen behind closed doors...doors preferably hidden in some back corner of the county where no one has to see them?
Sorry for the rambling. It upsets me to no end the labeling that our society engages in and how we as a society build more barriers than destroy them.
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DougHuntingdon
- Posts: 527
- Joined: Tue Feb 07, 2006 10:29 pm
Phil, thanks for adding to the discussion - no need to apologize. I don't have statistics on halfway houses--it might actually be pretty safe to live by one. However, I can completely understand the concerns of those who have seen their neighborhood deteriorate, as has been discussed in many threads on here. I believe there already is some form of halfway house for sexual offenders very near Hidden Village--you can tell by looking at the sexual offender maps--i.e. if a 6-unit building has 6 sexual offenders, it's probably not a coincidence. If you don't live near Hidden Village, maybe you want to volunteer your neighborhood for a halfway house at the upcoming meeting.
I feel your post really points to many larger problems with the justice system and society in general, which could probably be discussed forever. For example, a large percentage of inmates are nonviolent drug offenders. This is well documented. Meanwhile, those convicted of murder or manslaughter may get released earlier.
Doug
I feel your post really points to many larger problems with the justice system and society in general, which could probably be discussed forever. For example, a large percentage of inmates are nonviolent drug offenders. This is well documented. Meanwhile, those convicted of murder or manslaughter may get released earlier.
Doug
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ryan costa
- Posts: 2486
- Joined: Fri Jan 06, 2006 10:31 pm
reform
some people just need a beating. and maybe starved for a few days. that takes a lot less time than prison.
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Phil Florian
- Posts: 538
- Joined: Fri Jan 20, 2006 4:24 pm
Doug, I agree that at the same time I say all this I am also someone who would react, at least internally, the same way as folks around Hidden Village (what a great name for a secret hide out for previous convicts, too!). While I won't openly protest a halfway house going in on my street as some residents obviously had with Hidden Village, I would also be more wary around it with my child. It is a natural reaction. I have no problem working with convicted felons as I do as a part of my job but I would be lying if I said I want to take that home with me. It is a tough nut to crack, that is for sure.
I guess that is why it would be nice if there was some more transperancy to the process. If the city would laud the work of the home, get involved with its operation on a public level that we can see and show any success that happens (like when a convict gets a job, his own place and does something good for the city, etc.). Instead, it is a stealth campaign and further isolates these convicts so that they can be slipped back into their old lives where, if nothing changes for them, they will likely do what they did wrong the first time. Just sad.
I guess what is sad about the flyer is that it hasn't anything to do with justice or the law but only with fear and fear is the worst thing we can deal with when trying to be rational. I shudder to see how that session with City Council will go... but also curious. I won't be able to attend but hope to hear how it goes.
I guess that is why it would be nice if there was some more transperancy to the process. If the city would laud the work of the home, get involved with its operation on a public level that we can see and show any success that happens (like when a convict gets a job, his own place and does something good for the city, etc.). Instead, it is a stealth campaign and further isolates these convicts so that they can be slipped back into their old lives where, if nothing changes for them, they will likely do what they did wrong the first time. Just sad.
I guess what is sad about the flyer is that it hasn't anything to do with justice or the law but only with fear and fear is the worst thing we can deal with when trying to be rational. I shudder to see how that session with City Council will go... but also curious. I won't be able to attend but hope to hear how it goes.
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dl meckes
- Posts: 1475
- Joined: Mon Mar 07, 2005 6:29 pm
- Location: Lakewood
This is what's on the Planning Commission Docket:
Docket 7-10-06
11849 Clifton Boulevard
Hidden Village
Hidden Village, LLC, c/o Gary Lieberman, 35 River Street, Chagrin Falls 44022, property owner, and Support-to-at-Risk-Teens, d.b.a. Youth Reentry Program, Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry, 1468 West 25th Street, Cleveland 44113, tenant, request an appeal from the letter dated May 18, 2006 from Charles E. Barrett, Building Commissioner, pursuant to Subsection 1173.05, Appeals and Subsection 1127.02(b), Permitted Principal Uses. The property owner and applicant are appealing the Building Commissioner's decision that the intended use - that of the Youth Re-entry Program of the Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry - is not a permitted principal use in the MH, Multiple-Family, high density, Residential District.
Docket 7-10-06
11849 Clifton Boulevard
Hidden Village
Hidden Village, LLC, c/o Gary Lieberman, 35 River Street, Chagrin Falls 44022, property owner, and Support-to-at-Risk-Teens, d.b.a. Youth Reentry Program, Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry, 1468 West 25th Street, Cleveland 44113, tenant, request an appeal from the letter dated May 18, 2006 from Charles E. Barrett, Building Commissioner, pursuant to Subsection 1173.05, Appeals and Subsection 1127.02(b), Permitted Principal Uses. The property owner and applicant are appealing the Building Commissioner's decision that the intended use - that of the Youth Re-entry Program of the Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry - is not a permitted principal use in the MH, Multiple-Family, high density, Residential District.
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Beth Dobrowolski
- Posts: 1
- Joined: Mon May 22, 2006 8:54 pm
I attended the meeting last night for the Lutheran Metro Ministry and Hidden Valley LLC. I was impressed with the people who support and work in this program. My first knowledge of what was happening at Hidden Valley was a flier placed on my door. The flier had allot of incorrect information. The Building Commission allowed LMM to use the building for the Youth Re-entry program. They have been in the building for awhile now. LMM feels Lakewood is a better environment for these youths than the inner city location that had drug and high crime rate. The only issue I have right now is what happens when the next group tries to escape the inner city. LMM seems well run an dedicated to these. What happens when a group comes in that is not well run? Lakewood has made a exception they could come back to haunt them.