Neighbourhood reacts to H4 site location

Neighbours of 700 Wellington Ave. aren’t vehemently opposed to the new site of the Homelessness and Housing Help Hub (H4).

 “They're people like anybody else and they need somewhere to be,” one resident said, not wanting to use her name or image on television.

It’s a sentiment shared by many in the area of Wellington Avenue and Elliott Street, where the city plans to build H4, but there are some who are not overjoyed by the announcement.

“I have lived here for 40 years,” said a woman named Pat while calling in to the Morning Drive on AM800. “I am so used to councils ignoring us. We don't exist.”

Ward 2 Coun. Fabio Costante said there were other sites that didn't require expropriation, including a site already owned by the city.

“I respect the will of council and the decision that council makes. We could have re-directed the money to actually building housing that we needed yesterday. This is a problem in our community that is growing in nature,” Costante said.

Residents say there are homeless people who already wander the neighbourhood.

“I see them walking by here with bags and carts and I feel so bad for them,” one resident said, who also withheld her identity.

She said residents dig through the garbage and their recyclables but don't cause any problems.

“When they build this place we're going to have hundreds, if not more. Then what's going to happen?” she asked.

She’s worried crime could spike.

It’s a concern shared by a local business owner who already deals with that problem.

“We have concerns about our safety,” said Farhan Katlin, partner of F.S.K. Furniture on Wyandotte Street East, which is a stone’s throw away from the site.

Owners worry issues will amplify with H4 in their backyard.

“If the city is doing something about the safety of the nearby people I'm absolutely fine with it,” Katlin said.

Ward 3 Coun. Renaldo Agostino, who lives in the core, said the congregating he sees downtown will not carry over to H4.

“It's all about building it for the right cost, with the right people and with the right purpose in mind,” Agostino said. “Not stuffing people into a gymnasium and expecting to see results. That's part of the problem.”

Agostino feels the new location will help temper drug peddling, “There's not going to be a situation where the community has to worry about the predators going to take advantage of these poor people that are trying to recover. That won't happen here.”