City works to find housing solutions for displaced 1616 Ouellette residents before shelter closes Monday
A deadline is looming for residents of 1616 Ouellette Avenue who were evacuated from their homes two weeks ago over safety concerns at the apartment.
Residents at the apartment building have been out since Nov. 22, when the city ordered an evacuation because the building didn’t have heat and needs upgrades to the electrical system and fire code before residents can move back in.
A number of people are working diligently to get the building back up to snuff.
“There's a lot of moving parts,” said Marla Coffin, the owner of Marda Management. Her company was hired for ‘crisis management’ with the goal of fixing the many issues keeping residents out.
“We're making some progress for sure,” Coffin said, noting there is still no timeline for when residents can return. “We certainly have made some headway with respect to the heating systems, although they are not up and running in full yet. But we are hoping for that hopefully, within a week or so.”
But the emergency shelter housing dozens of displaced residents will soon close.
Peter Werner, a former resident, considers himself lucky. He never stayed at the shelter because family took him in.
On Friday, Werner finally got approved as high priority for social housing.
“It's so hard to find a place. Like it's unreal,” he said, choking back tears.
About 40 others are still at the emergency shelter, set up by the City of Windsor and Red Cross.
“There's other ones out there, which I know I'm supposed to worry about myself, but I worry about them now too. I always have,” Werner said. “They might be out on the streets Monday.”
That’s when the temporary shelter closes.
The city’s social services department is working around the clock to help find solutions for anyone still staying there.
“We're working right hard, right through the weekend,” said Kirk Whittal, the city’s executive director for housing and children's services. “We have staff on site. Many of our social services staff, we have social workers, we have people you know working really hard to find alternatives and help these people.”
Windsor’s affordable housing wait-list already boasts 6,000 people and a tight rental market is making it tougher to find accommodations for people now on the high priority list.
Whittal hopes to have some solutions for everyone by Monday.
“I'm feeling pretty good about how people are approaching us and looking for that kind of help. And then we're able to help,” he said.
For some, the city is recommending staying with family until the building is ready to move back in.
Werner tells CTV News he won’t be going back. He’s looking for a fresh start somewhere else.
“It could be a few days. It could be a few weeks. But I am praying,” he said. “Need to get that smile back where it's supposed to be instead of the upside down thing.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.