I was at the public hearing March 21 and listened to the neighbors opposed to the new IFC facility. I listened to all their arguments and conclude that they boil down to self-interested NIMBYism based on property-values hysteria, criminalizing homelessness, and cynical fear-mongering. I really listened for evidence of sincerity or realistic concerns, but found little to support that.

I was disappointed in the moral character displayed by the opposition to the IFC facility. That doesn't mean I am naive about the self-interested nature of the business and UNC interests at work - but they are willing to pay up in the form of land and other resources to produce a better facility that also happens to meet their economic needs. And moving the operation out of downtown is probably a good idea for the men themselves, given the good public transit options they will have on MLK Boulevard.

How many times did folks say it was bad to put a shelter so near to "preschools, a school, and a park." Why? That seems to me an ideal place to site a rehabilitation and transition program, where the goal is to find ways of integrating homeless men into mainstream life. Done right, wouldn't it be great to have kids visit the residents to help out with the garden? No one would say exactly what they were afraid of - are you really afraid homeless men are going to attack children in the neighborhood? If that's what we teach our children, it will only add insult to the ample injuries of poverty and homelessness.

Philip Cohen

Chapel Hill