Neighbour weighs in on Downtown Mission fence plan

One resident who lives near the Downtown Missions believes the installation of a safety fence around the facility is a step in the right direction and will help mitigate some of the issues that have been ongoing for months now.

The Mission has issued a request for quotes to build a safety fence around the perimeter of the facility at 875 Ouellette Avenue, an idea that came out of a packed meeting put on by Ward 3 councillor Renaldo Agostino back in March.

Speaking on AM800's The Shift with Patty Handysides, Nick Amlin explained some of the problems that have been plaguing his neighbourhood since the Mission moved into their current location including drug dealing and drug use, defecation in people's yards, discarded needles and theft.

Amlin says pretty much exclusively it seems that people come to the Mission through the back on the Pelissier Street side.

"There's no control whatsoever so it's just constantly drug dealers pouring in there. Drug use happening in and around the area, and obviously the Mission doesn't tolerate drug use on their property, so people just walk of their property 10 feet to in front of our homes and start using drugs there," he said.

He added that anyone who has seen someone using the drugs currently available on the streets can attest to the change in behaviour it causes, with those people becoming dangerous.

Residents in the area have tried to confront those causing the issues, with Amlin saying he's done so several times.

"Several times successfully and unsuccessfully," he continued. "Unfortunately some people just don't care what they're imposing on or what they're doing, they're looking for their fix and that's it."

Amlin says personally he hasn't been frightened by any of the confrontations, but that some of his neighbours with young children absolutely have been.

It's been 57 days since the town hall in March, and while Amlin believes the fence will help he isn't expecting it to actually come to fruition anytime soon.

Ultimately, he believes based on discussions with some people at the Mission that the next step in the process should be the organization finding another place to set up shop.

"They say this is not an ideal facility for them, they're waiting to find out where the new H4 facility is going before they make any decision on how they're moving forward. But the best situation is this facility gets moved to a more appropriate location that's not in a neighbourhood. Which I know is a big ask, but it's what has to happen and it's what the Mission wants to do."

Amlin gave credit to councillor Agostino for taking such a proactive stance on this matter, and hopes the urgency of the situation will continue to be felt moving forward.

In the meantime, the Mission is fundraising for the fence, which they expect could cost between $30,000 to $40,000, and will be reaching out to donors, foundations, businesses and the labour community for donations.

- with files from AM800's The Shift with Patty Handysides