What is NIMBY?
What is NIMBY? “Not In My Back Yard” (NIMBY) is a phenomenon that has arisen from efforts to integrate persons diagnosed with a mental illness or co-occurring disorder into residential communities. Based on misinformation, myth, fear of the unknown, and lack of education as to the nature of mental illness, people have attempted to put up barriers that would not apply to anyone else seeking permanent, safe, affordable, quality housing. The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, familial status (the presence or anticipated presence of children under the age of 18 in a household) and disability. “Disability” was added to the Act in 1988, and one of the reasons Congress made this change was to address zoning restrictions and other barriers to housing for people with disabilities in residential neighborhoods. Municipalities had routinely found ways to bar people with disabilities from such neighborhoods, often in res
