HOW mean-spirited of the person who objected to the opening of a new home for looked-after children (Gazette, September 26, 'New home for children OK'd).
I don't think I've heard the acronym NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) for a good many years but I feel this is the perfect time to revive it. I would be interested in seeing the uncredited mythical "historic studies" referred to in this letter but I doubt it exists in the real world. This person is merely worried the perceived value of his/her home could drop by a couple of hundred pounds; boo hoo, dear, boo hoo.
Looked-after children have as much right as the rest of us to live a peaceful, happy life. Attitudes like this don't help anyone, certainly not the children themselves.
There are hundreds of reasons children have to be temporarily accommodated, most of them not the fault of the child, yet they have to bear the stigma forced upon them by narrow-minded, self-involved, I'm-alright-Jack, opinionated and - I may say, by staying anonymous - cowardly folk.
Just hope that your family, friends and neighbours never have to face the difficult circumstances which may lead to them needing help.
Lynette McKone
Kirkby Stephen
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