A group planning to move four mentally ill people into an Eighth Ward neighborhood tried to reassure worried residents — with some resistance — at a public meeting Monday night.

Some residents are concerned because the organization, Housing Options for the Mentally Ill — which provides affordable supportive housing services to people with chronic mental illness — does not offer live-in supervision for its clients. The Evanston-based organization move into a house on the 1300 block of Kirk Street this summer.

At the invitation of Housing Options, 30 residents met at a local home to discuss the issue.

“As next-door neighbors, do we have to be the unpaid supervisors?” asked ward resident Irv Levinson.

Ald. Ann Rainey (8th) said she is not concerned with the organization’s clients but with the “clever” way the Housing Options has presented itself. Residents were not notified of Housing Options’ plans to purchase the house before the contract was signed, she said.

Sue Durburg, president of the board of directors for the organization, said the new residents will not require supervision — by professionals or neighbors.

“We’re not plopping in your midst people who will bring chaos into your neighborhood,” Durburg said. “Our residents are good neighbors.”

Durburg apologized to people who did not receive notification. She reiterated her stance that Housing Options residents would not be a nuisance or a burden.

“It is our experience that it is not possible for us both to be negotiating on a property and be talking with you all at the same time,” said Alexander Brown, executive director for Housing Options.

He said that during the first week of April, 60 letters were distributed informing residents of his organization’s plans. But only five people at the meeting said they received notification.

Irv and Sylvia Levinson said they visited 22 people in the Kirk Street neighborhood, but 16 said they weren’t aware of what was going on.

“You have a real anemic way of notifying people,” Sylvia Levinson said.

Brown said the organization is “extremely careful” when choosing residents. A three-step evaluation process is overseen by licensed clinical social workers and mental health professionals. Applicants must demonstrate an ability to function on their own, she added.

But Sylvia Levinson said she worries about the effect this will have on her property, should she ever choose to sell.

Ellen Galland, an architect with Housing Options, said her previous experience has shown that a home for mentally ill people has no adverse effects on the property values of immediate neighbors.

Sylvia Levinson said financial issues are not her only concern.

“I will look out my window and I will mourn the loss of the fact that there will never be a family in this home again,” she said.

But resident Lawrence McCarthy said he looks forward to his incoming neighbors.

“I can assure you that I’d rather have these residents than some of the dysfunctional families I’ve lived near,” McCarthy said.

As long as Housing Options fulfills its promises to adequately serve its clients, resident Richard Slayton said he will be happy to greet his new neighbors at the end of the summer.

“My concern is about the services you’ll provide for them,” he said. “It’s not about the residents. They’re welcome in my neighborhood.”