Roger Cowles
The Port Arthur News
April 07, 2008 12:32 pm
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The signs in the rural neighborhood are blunt: “I protest the foster home in Beauxart Gardens by Fellowship Baptist Church.”
The residents there are understandably concerned about a plan by the Nederland church to establish a home for 12 foster children on North Garden Road, with plans to add another group home on the 2.5-acre tract in the future.
No one is denying a place is needed to provide housing and care to the elementary-school-aged children who have been removed from their homes because they were in dangerous or abusive situations. What the residents are wanting to deny is a place in their neighborhood, typically known as Not in My Back Yard — the NIMBY Syndrome. Move the children to someone else’s back yard, they would prefer.
It’s unfortunate that such facilities are needed at all, that all children don’t have the opportunity to grow up in a loving, supportive home environment. But the sad truth about our world today — and this area has not escaped this truth — is that some parents are abusive, are addicted to drugs, abandon their children or don’t provide the proper home environment for some other reason. These children need a place in their community where they can be protected until a longer-term solution is worked out for them.
We understand the concerns of the residents. But when rights collide decisions must be made about what benefits the greater good of the whole area, and in this case we think the plan by Friendship Baptist Church will be the greater benefit.
Residents along the street chose to live in an unincorporated area where they don’t pay city taxes and where they also aren’t afforded the protection of city zoning laws. Many types of facilities could possibly come into the neighborhood and set up shop.
The Rev. Joe Roberts, pastor of Fellowship Baptist, said the home has applied to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services to take children in the fourth, fifth and sixth grades who are at a basic care level. That is the lowest of four levels and describes behavior patterns that could be attributed to almost any child.
One of the neighbors, who was interviewed for a story in The Port Arthur News last week, said he has 25 years of experience working with children from every care level, from intensive care to basic care. He said he believes that children are sometimes reclassified to lower levels so they can be placed in homes like the one proposed in Beauxart Gardens.
This is where we believe the church can play an ongoing role if the application for the group care home is approved. It was commendable for the church to arrange a community meeting to address residents’ concerns. A spokesperson from the Beaumont office of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services answered questions at the meeting and tried to separate fact from fiction.
But the church, in taking on this project, must do more. With this project they are taking on the responsibility to see to it that what they tell their neighbors is what actually occurs. We agree with the need to provide care to children from this area, and the church should see to it that limits are made to keep children in their own communities.
Difficult decisions must be made when rights conflict, but in this case it seems clear that this is the right situation to provide a safe haven to children in our midst who have no one else to give them a chance to grow into productive members of our community.
Roger Cowles is editor of The Port Arthur News.
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Roger Cowles