Tented city pops up on front lawn of condemned building on Windsor's west end
Residents of a west Windsor apartment building have moved their possessions outside after being evicted from their home.
The City of Windsor has condemned the building 245 Detroit St, known as River Place, because it lacks safety features, running water and functioning toilets.
Robert Rockwood,50, one of people displaced says he’s “emotionally drained” as he sets up a tent on the front lawn.
“We’re not leaving until we get our rent back because our rent is paid for this month,” says Rockwood.
Earlier in the morning the Emergency Services Unit of Windsor police were inside the building.
“All the tenants of Riverside Place left the premises on their own accord,” says public information officer Darius Goze. “The Windsor Police assisted City of Windsor personnel in ensuring that the building had been vacated while ensuring the safety of all individuals.”
Police are now preventing anyone from entering the building.
Michael Thiele, the lawyer representing the property owner, says the owner will be assessing the property and will follow directives from the city’s deputy chief building official to ensure public safety.
City officials say staff from a number of departments, outreach workers from Family Services Windsor-Essex, Welcome Centre Shelter staff, and other local agencies have been on site daily, meeting one-on-one with residents, assessing their needs, helping with alternative housing placements, and directing some to the Homelessness and Housing Help Hub (H4) for housing-search assistance and other services.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.
U.S. flight attendant indicted in attempt to record teen girl in airplane bathroom
An American Airlines flight attendant was indicted Thursday after authorities said he tried to secretly record video of a 14-year-old girl using an airplane bathroom last September.
Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of 'catastrophic' damage
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States.