Drug-dealing, thefts, public urination and defecation and trespassing are among the complaints of neighbours living near the province’s new modular supportive housing on Terminal Avenue in Nanaimo.
“People are scared to leave their houses,” spokesman Darrel Gyorfi told council this week.
The Island Crisis Care Society, under contract with the province to run the supportive housing project, is taking steps to beef up security.
Residents say car alarms are being set off in the middle of the night. Shoplifting has increased at nearby businesses, there’s garbage strewn around the neighbourhood, and the site is noisy, Gyorfi said.
People have often been seen climbing over the fence, he said.
Modular housing units were set up on two Nanaimo sites last year to house people who were staying at the city’s now-defunct tent city, which had about 300 campers at its peak.
“Personally, it has not turned out the way that I had hoped or expected,” said Nanaimo Mayor Leonard Krog. “I don’t think there is any question about that.”
Most citizens were hoping that this housing would be a positive step, he said. “Clearly, there have been significant issues and it is not fair that the citizens of any area of our community live in the level of fear and concern that is being experienced.”
Nanaimo city staff have been meeting with the RCMP, the Island Crisis Care Society, B.C. Housing and neighbours.
Contractors were at the provincially owned Terminal Avenue site on Wednesday increasing the height of the six-foot perimeter fence by two feet and installing wood barriers to bar unwanted visitors, said Violet Hayes, the society’s executive director.
The entrance gate is being locked, giving security personnel the ability to control access, she said.
A portable office has also been ordered. Once in place, anyone leaving or entering will have to go through it and talk to staffers, Hayes said. “We are really committed to doing a good job,” she said. “We want it to be positive for everyone involved.”
People jumping the fence are not among the 78 residents of the site, she said. There is currently a no-guest policy.
Construction is continuing at the project, opened late last year. A kitchen has yet to be finished. Currently, a Salvation Army vehicle with a kitchen is being used to cook meals, which residents have to go outdoors to collect.
Hayes said although the situation is challenging, there have been successes. Several residents are going into treatment, others have found jobs. “It just goes on and on.”
Coun. Sheryl Armstrong said in an interview that she will make a motion at the next council meeting asking staff to investigate designating the Terminal Avenue a nuisance property.
If a site is deemed to be a nuisance, the city can fine either the property owner or the body holding the lease to cover the costs of police services to that site, she said.
She urges citizens to make complaints to police so that records show what is taking place.
“We, as a council, need to find a location [as soon as possible] for the permanent modular housing — because this is just temporary — where we can take away some of the numbers from there and make it more manageable.”
If people were housed in a less-populated area, that would help tackle the crime concern, she said. “Crime is up [by Terminal Avenue] because it is easy access.”
Senior government money needs to be invested in detox and drug treatment, Armstrong said. “I think they need to do a therapeutic community.”
