Fourth Shepherds building proposed for Carlington gets some pushback

After 30 years, Jacques Auger plans to move away from Carlington.

Crime is part of the reason. He's tired of people rifling through cars, or stealing from garages. He said his wife doesn't walk out alone at night.

Auger spoke at a public meeting Tuesday night about a Shepherds of Good Hope supportive housing building proposed for Merivale Road and Kirkwood Avenue.

With three Shepherds buildings on the street already, he thinks his community is already doing its share.

"If you tell me there's no correlation between crime and development like this, I don't believe it for a second," he said.

6-storey building would house 70

Shepherds of Good Hope CEO Stephen Bartolo responded bluntly.

"Everyone in our city deserves a home," he said. 

He said the six-storey building would be that home for 70 people. It would replace a derelict property in front of an existing Shepherds supportive housing building, which currently houses 57 people. It used to be a rooming house with 110 residents.

As Bartolo fielded questions from residents, he pointed out that means just a handful more people living on the site.

"What we're actually doing is enhancing what was previously there," he added later in an interview. "We're not really expanding the footprint significantly, and the new programming that we're adding is going to have 24/7 wraparound supports."

Supports keep more than 99 per cent housed

Bartolo said there's a bottleneck getting people from the shelter at Murray Street and King Edward Avenue to Shepherds supportive housing, which is full everywhere.

The new building would house people who are already stabilized in other supportive housing units, freeing up space and relieving the bottleneck, he said.

With supports on site, Bartolo said fewer than one per cent of residents in Shepherds supportive housing buildings end up back on the street.

"We will have case management, front-line staff, social workers nurses that are there to be able to work with them; really meeting the individuals where they are in their journey, and supporting them the best that we can," he said.

Ottawa Inner City Health workers will be on site. CEO Rob Boyd said those moving into the building are likely to have health challenges, including past or current issues with mental health or addictions, and housing is essential to help them get well.

"When people are homeless or unhoused, often the health care becomes a secondary thing for them to focus on, as they're really focused on the day to day survival things," he said.

Carlington already 'saturated'

There was a lot of pushback at the meeting, but Bartolo said it was nothing compared to what he heard when the Shepherds proposed its first facility on Merivale Road, the Oaks, more than a decade ago.

Now it runs three supportive housing buildings on the street.

Auger said that's precisely the issue. He said a fourth building would be better placed in Westboro or Rockcliffe Park. He said Carlington has been "saturated."

"The Shepherds of Good Hope, it comes with a stigma," he said. "I'm all for helping out and carrying our weight, but it's just a lot in our neighbourhood."

Still, he seemed persuaded the proposal wouldn't be as bad as the former rooming house.

"What they're presenting is definitely better, if they have support there," he said.

Objections to a 'fait accompli'

At one point, a resident asked for a show of hands on who objected to the project. When he suggested it was overwhelming, a few voices rose in dissent.

Jared Taylor was one of those who supported the Shepherds plan. In his view, the social ills that others spoke of, from crime to joblessness, can be directly linked to homelessness. 

"I really think it will solve the problems that people came here tonight to highlight," he said. "Giving them a solid place to live is really the fundamental piece."

But even from supporters, there was a sense that they've been left out of decisions about their neighbourhood. Bartolo said the project remains "aspirational." But the architectural renderings are in, the applications submitted.

The words "done deal" and "fait accompli" came up again and again at the meeting, as residents objected to hearing about a project that seems certain to happen.

"The engagement is coming late," said Colleen Taylor, who otherwise spoke positively of the project. "It feels like it's coming late to us when you come into our community and say, 'Oh, this is the building that we're planning on building.'"

River Coun. Riley Brockington noted that the project is allowed under current zoning, so it doesn't go through the same consultation project as other buildings seeking changes to things like height limits. It doesn't have to go to council for approval.

But Brockington said he still took a lot from the meeting, which he thinks is only the beginning of a conversation with the Shepherds.

"I'm strongly committed to addressing the housing and homelessness issue, to stop chronic homelessness that plagues our city," he said. "I think this is a good option for this parcel of land, but the community did bring some legitimate concerns to the table."

Brockington said the Shepherds of Good Hope has been a good neighbour.

"The Shepherds have on-site staff 24 hours a day, and the Shepherds make a genuine attempt to respond."

'They're going to help a lot of people like me'

In the conversation Brockington started, residents in nearby Shepherds buildings have something to say. Denny Peeke wasn't at the meeting, but he was eager to share his thoughts on the proposal from outside his home, in the smaller of two buildings on the Oaks site.

"They're going to help a lot of people like me," he said.

Peeke said moving from living in a dorm in the Salvation Army to his own room in supportive housing was a "big deal" in his life.

"I love it," he said.

He said he helps out in the kitchen and gets groceries for other residents who can't manage. He greets his Carlington neighbours along the way.

Peeke doesn't believe the people who live in his building or the Oaks are contributing to crime issues in the neighbourhood. He said there are "rough buildings" just to the south which have nothing to do with the Shepherds.

"I think there's stuff that we might get blamed for but I think the worst thing these guys do is drink in the park," said Peeke. "I realize there's a lot of crime in the neighbourhood, but it's not from the Shepherds."

But he said he can't speak for the former rooming house building down the street, right behind the project site.

Ivan Sanguya, originally from Nunavut, has lived there since last June. He said there are substance use issues inside, including intravenous drugs, crack and methamphetamine. He said he hears screaming that keeps him up at night.

Still, he appreciates the supports on offer. He said it makes it easier to live. He's thankful to be out of the shelter, and into a place of his own.

"I have my own room," he said. "It's important."

Note: The author of this article worked at the Shepherds of Good Hope in a position under current CEO Stephen Bartolo about 11 years ago.