Those near Timmins homeless shelter say it’s causing fear, insecurity
As an independent review of the Living Space homeless shelter in Timmins comes to a close, some residents and business owners say not enough attention has been paid to the impacts of some of its clients are having on the surrounding area.
Feelings of fear and insecurity are high, residents said, and there’s a sense that efforts to improve crime and safety are not as effective as they hoped.
In the more than two years since Living Space moved to its current location, Andre Gagnon said there hasn’t been a day he’s felt safe.
“We’ve been dealing with overdoses, thefts,” Gagnon said.
“They’re yelling, they’re walking down the street doing their drugs. They’re breaking into houses, they’re defecating everywhere.”
He said someone he assumed was a shelter client accosted his staff that same morning. Gagnon lives in the area, as well, and said there’s not enough of a police and outreach presence.
As an independent review of the Living Space homeless shelter in Timmins comes to a close, some residents and business owners say not enough attention has been paid to the impacts of some of its clients are having on the surrounding area. Feb. 22/24 (Photo from video)
Some clients attend the city-funded safe consumption site near the shelter’s old location, which a business owner said hasn’t been safe there since 2018.
“Break-ins, fires, stolen wires,” said Chris Lamarche.
“We spent about $40,000 in damage repairs to our building because of what’s going on around there. This is right beside city hall.”
Lamarche and Gagnon are two of many who said their concerns are not being properly addressed by city officials and service providers.
'Residents have been victimized'
City Coun. Bill Gvozdanovic agreed and said more needs to be done.
“The first step, in terms of healing, is to identify that the residents have been victimized,” Gvozdanovic said.
“The fact that residents in this area and other areas of town have had their lives turned upside down. The way we’re going to solve this is as a community.”
Gvozdanovic said he wants to see stricter penalties for trespassers and vandals and will support an upcoming motion for a vacant building registry.
He also wants to see more outreach workers on the streets. One downtown business owner said that’s been particularly effective.
“I feel that they’re doing a very good job to try to keep our downtown safe, as well as looking out for the less fortunate people in our community,” said Sonya Biemann, downtown business owner.
But Biemann said that’s not the case for all of the city’s efforts, adding that the city is still dealing with unacceptable levels of crime and open drug use.
- Get local breaking news alerts
- Daily newsletter with the top local stories emailed to your inbox
- Want more local news? Check out the Timmins page
Timmins police told CTV it is focusing resources more heavily on hot spot areas, including with its mobile crisis team.
“To me, it’s still not helping,” Biemann said.
“It’s not helping enough. I don’t know how they plan on making it better.”
“There’s no solutions until the politicians get it together,” Gagnon added.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6976926.1721883767!/httpImage/image.png_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.png)
LIVE UPDATES Multiple homes, businesses 'lost' to wildfire in Jasper National Park: Parks Canada
Officials from Parks Canada and Jasper say "multiple structures, including a number of businesses and homes, in and around the town of Jasper, have been lost" to wildfire in Jasper National Park.
Alberta premier says a third, perhaps half, of all Jasper buildings destroyed by fire
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says early reports indicate a third and perhaps up to half of all buildings in the historic Rocky Mountain resort town of Jasper have burned in a wildfire.
Prince William's 2023 salary revealed in new report
Newly released financial reports show that William, the Prince of Wales, drew a salary of $42.1 million last fiscal year, his first since inheriting the vast and lucrative Duchy of Cornwall.
Tourist suffers 3rd-degree burns to feet after losing flip flops amid soaring temperatures in Death Valley
A tourist was hospitalized after suffering serious burns on his feet on Saturday when he lost his flip flops at a U.S. national park where temperatures soared past 48 Celsius.
'There's mom and dad's house': New video appears to show destruction of Jasper neighbourhood
Video posted to social media on Thursday morning appears to show the charred remains of a Jasper, Alta., neighbourhood.
Former judge with disputed Cree heritage likely has Indigenous DNA: law society
The Law Society of British Columbia says a DNA test shows a former judge and Order of Canada recipient accused of falsely claiming to be Cree "most likely" has Indigenous heritage.
Australian field hockey player opts to amputate part of his finger in order to compete in Paris Olympics
In the run up to the Paris Olympics, athletes have been stepping up their preparations in order to maintain their edge over competitors. But for Australia’s Matt Dawson, those preparations looked a little different this year, with the field hockey player opting to have part of his finger amputated in order to compete in the Games.
Canada to bring home fewest Olympic medals since 2012, according to forecaster
Fewer Canadians are expected to reach the Paris podium than in the previous two Olympic Summer Games, a global data analytics company predicts.
Jennifer Aniston criticizes JD Vance for 'childless cat ladies' remarks: 'I pray that your daughter is fortunate enough to bear children'
Jennifer Aniston is criticizing JD Vance for comments he made in his past about women without children.