The NIMBY phenomenon: community residents' concerns about housing for deinstitutionalized people

This article reports the findings of a study on community opposition to group homes in Montreal, Canada. This qualitative study set out to explore the underlying dynamics of what happens when a community rejects a group home. With the use of a naturalistic paradigm, three actual incidents of community opposition were studied. Nineteen interviews were conducted with community residents, elected officials, and group home developers. Community residents did not support deinstitutionalization and social integration policies and argued against group homes. The findings of this study, never reported before in previous research, have important implications for social workers and social planners.