'We got less than 24 hours': Evacuated Windsorites worried about their next move

An emergency shelter for evacuated residents of 1616 Ouellette Avenue is set to close Monday morning.

“I have nowhere to go. I don't know what they're [the city] going to do,” resident Jerrod Lefler told CTV News Windsor on Sunday outside the Constable John Atkinson Memorial Community Centre where he’s been living for the past 13 days.

“It's killing my disability. I have anxiety. PTSD. Depression, all that fun stuff. It's exacerbated. I'm lucky if I get three hours of sleep a night,” added Lefler.

The City of Windsor and Canadian Red Cross opened the emergency shelter on Nov. 22, after evacuating the 120-unit residential building because of unsafe living conditions.

The building has no heat and an unstable electrical supply.

Since then, Windsor’s housing department has been trying to find new places for the residents to live.

“There’s some people who've gotten out of here, thank God, but there's some people that tomorrow literally have nowhere to go,” Lefler said.

Three residents CTV News Windsor spoke with on Sunday indicated there are approximately 30 to 40 people who don’t know where they’re moving on Monday.

Residents being evacuated at 1616 Ouellette Ave apartment building in Windsor, Ont. on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2022. (Sijia Liu/CTV News Windsor)

David Baker said he’s feeling, “Frustrated. Moody. Tired. [I’m] just wishing this whole thing moved quicker than it does.”

“I'm grateful for the help that we are getting,” added resident Billie-Jo Steptoe. “We're getting three square meals a day. We're warm. There's security here.”

But Steptoe is also frustrated she doesn’t know where she’s moving on Monday. She told CTV News Windsor she has filled out an application for a new home somewhere in the city.

“I have to walk into a place that I don't know with my hands full of stuff and try to figure out where I'm going,” said Steptoe.

In an interview with CTV News Windsor on Friday, city officials said they would be working all weekend to find housing.

“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,” said Kirk Whittal, the city’s executive director for Housing and Children's Services.

Pictures taken inside 1616 Ouellette Avenue in Windsor, Ont. showcase the deteriorating conditions of the apartment building which has been without heat for months. (Sijia Liu/CTV News Windsor)

In an earlier news release, they asked landlords to reach out if they had affordable housing units available.

Jason Moore, a spokesperson for the City of Windsor issued the following statement to CTV News Windsor on Sunday afternoon:

“We continue to work around the clock to try and find alternate accommodations and consider all options for the displaced tenants. We know this is a very anxious time for those few remaining at the temporary emergency shelter but we’re committed to doing everything we can to help and we can assure everyone that no one will be without safe shelter. No one will have to live in the street while they await the reopening of their building at 1616 Ouellette."