No Hiding Place - Society Guardian Article

[Helen]

Approaches to solving NFH issues: Click here to read the full story (http://society.guardian.co.uk/crimeandpunishment/story/0,8150,969632,00.html)

[Jeannie]

Quote: "Everybody has said I must be joking, but I have said to the prime minister that we need some money to build indestructible properties away from other people," Field says. "In Birkenhead, that happens to be under the motorway. There are only about six families that cause real trouble in our area. If all attempts to get them to behave reasonably fail, they should be separated from other people, and be able to torment themselves until they learn to behave better."


Good article which highlights just how extreme some people can be. The idea of creating non-destructible housing for these people is an absolute joke. I know there are sectors of society that need help from the tax payer, but to think our taxes are going towards building houses for people that have so little respect for them that they want to destroy them makes me livid! It's never a few thousand pounds and always runs to millions. Millions that could be spent so much better on people that woudl really appreciate it.

Maybe the above is the only answer - pile them all together in their own estate to make each others' lives a misery. Undoubtedly a NFH will only realise how bad they are when a mirror image moves in next door.

[Mistyeyeddreamer]

pile them all together in their own estate to make each others' lives a misery. Undoubtedly a NFH will only realise how bad they are when a mirror image moves in next door[/b]

If only that were true, Jeannie. But having watched first one tenant, then two more, then another one, followed by another one, all NFH, move into our green, it would appear to me that they're all very much alike. They have all hooked up with each other and just made life a living hell for other residents.

So even if they were all piled together in one place, they&#39;d probably all get on alike a house on fire&#33; Oh and I&#39;ve no doubt there&#39;d be a lot of houses on fire somewhere along the line http://www.nfh.org.uk/forums/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/ohmy.gif Birds of a feather and all that http://www.nfh.org.uk/forums/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad.gif

I have no objection to NFH families getting help with their problems, but I think it should include being moved away from the area where they have caused problems. Mainly because their neighbours who have suffered at their hands will be less likely to forgive and forget, and who can blame them? But also because if they were to go to a new place, having improved their behaviour, they would be starting with a clean slate.

I once witnessed a neighbour having a go a one young lad (a persistent troublemaker) about throwing stuff at her windows. He denied it was him. Well, he didn&#39;t actually throw the missile but he was part of two &#39;warring&#39; groups of kids and although his missile didn&#39;t hit the window, he was still throwing. He complained &#39;I&#39;m always getting the blame&#39;, to which the neighbour replied &#39;Well you built the reputation, now you have to live with it&#39;.

And I think that&#39;s what will happen. Even if NFH families behaviour improve, their victims will still be waiting for them to relapse.

Misty

[hollygolightly]

This is something that I am quite interested in. As I do think that everyone has a right to a safe and affordable home. There are some people in our society who find it difficult coping on their own and unwittingly become NFH. For these people I think that there should be proper support networks in place.

I do agree with Misty that a move away to alternative accommodation for a "new start" (which also gives the victims the chance of peace) is a good idea.

There are two camps of NFH that I can think of:

Those who carry on deliberately behaving as NFH intentionally knowing what the effects are, and
Those who unintentionally become NFH and don&#39;t have the ability or resources to cease that behaviour

I have time for the second camp and think that by helping them, they can overcome some of the problems they may be causing.

The first camp? I have no time for. They are the arrogant, "me, me, me" brigade who think that the world revolves around them, that they can do anything they choose, whenever they want. Their motto is: S*d everyone else.