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.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Humboldt Broncos crash victims and families react to decision to deport truck driver
The family of one of the victims of the Humboldt Broncos bus crash in 2018 says they are 'thankful' for a decision by a Calgary immigration board to deport the driver of the truck involved.
A woman took her dog to a shelter to be euthanized. A year later, the dog is up for adoption again
Exhausted and short on options after consulting two veterinary clinics, Kristie Pereira made the gut-wrenching decision last year to take her desperately ill puppy to a Maryland shelter to be euthanized.
Community mourns victims of fatal boat crash near Kingston, Ont.
The three people killed in last weekend's tragic collision between a speedboat and a fishing boat north of Kingston are being remembered Friday.
Dolphin stuck in N.J. creek dies after 'last resort' rescue attempt, officials say
Animal welfare officials say a dolphin stuck in a New Jersey creek for more than a week has died after a rescue attempt they say was attempted as a “last resort.”
'God forgives but we don’t': Loud outburst from stabbing victim’s family during sentencing hearing
An emotional outburst in a London, Ont. courtroom Friday disrupted the sentencing hearing of a woman who pleaded guilty for her part in the death of a 29-year-old Mohammed Abdallah.
NASA launches tiny CubeSat to set its sights on Earth
NASA has launched the first of two research satellites to measure how much heat is lost to space from the Arctic and Antarctica.
How to keep insects out of your house, according to an entomologist and other experts
Now that temperatures have warmed up even more this spring, you may be anxious at the thought of bugs invading your home or you may already be battling the pests. Here are expert tips on how to keep them away.
‘It’s pretty alarming’: Urban Wildlife encounters in Winnipeg this week
When you consider what kind of animals you might encounter in your Winnipeg neighborhood, a bear probably isn’t on your list.
Prescriptions for weight loss, diabetes drugs for young people leaped 600% since 2020, study says
The number of young people in the U.S. who are prescribed GLP-1 agonist drugs like Wegovy and Ozempic for weight loss and diabetes soared 594.4 per cent in just three years, according to new research.