A downtown resident who wants a fence built around the David Busby Centre took his fight to city hall this week with petition in hand.
Tuesday night’s building committee meeting saw residents who live around the Mulcaster Street homeless shelter make a presentation asking for the David Busby Centre to erect a solid fence along the side entrance on McDonald Street.
The David Busby Centre oversees the aid and shelter of many of Barrie's homeless population in its building at 88 Mulcaster St., where they provide a haven for the city's less fortunate.
The building's side entrance on McDonald Street has Neil Little and "a few" other neighbourhood residents requesting a fence be built to keep the homeowners and homeless from interacting in situations he says are less than comfortable.
“We live in fear seven days a week and so do our tenants. We have been threatened, intimidated and continue to witness this disruptive behaviour as outlined in the petition,” said Little. “There are constant police, constant fire trucks and ambulance and the reason I mentioned in my report about the drug use was because the ambulance is there multiple times a week for that reason.
"They get the drugs downtown; they bring them up to the Busby Centre and get high or overdose in that area," he added. "I’ve lived in my home for 33 years and raised five kids there. It was a beautiful area.”
The David Busby Centre expanded at the Mulcaster Street location late last year, just a few days before Christmas. Another local group is also working on an application to open a supervised consumption site at 90 Mulcaster St., next door to the Busby Centre.
Little, a retired hairstylist who now runs a not-for-profit group that offers haircuts to local charitable organizations, lives at 67 McDonald St., directly across the street from the David Busby Centre's side entrance.
Little told BarrieToday there are around two-dozen incidents a week outside the centre, spilling onto the street in front him and his neighbours, so he had no choice but to bring those concerns to city hall.
“The Busby Centre is out of control,” he said. “It is a hangout for some Busby residents to drink, socialize, do and sell drugs and terrorize the neighbourhood day and night. The constant barrage of loud, vulgar language makes it impossible for us to enjoy our homes and neighbourhood."
Little says the only solution is a fence around the property.
"Nothing else will work other than a full, solid fence with no door to go through it," he said. "The first person who gets upset is going to kick it, take it off its hinges, or people will just exit through it and set up on the hill again."
David Busby Centre operations manager Olivia Forrest told BarrieToday she doesn’t believe a fence is the answer, and hopes everyone involved can work on a more suitable solution.
“This is all very unfortunate and has come on like this only recently,” she said. “I do feel for the residents and a part of me understands their concerns, but we can only control what happens in the facility.
"We try to give people a safe place to stay and many of our residents are battling addictions and mental-health issues," Forrest added. "Not one of the citizens involved in the petition have tried to communicate through conversation. If they took the time to talk with some of our guests, they may learn a little more about them and have some understanding.”
But Little says a fence around the building would be a "win-win," because it will allow for on-street parking and the area can be cleaned up.
"The shopping carts will either not be left scattered or it will be easier for the city to pick them up," he said. "And the police can do their patrols easier by having a blocked area containing any problems.”
Little told building committee members that, if needed, he and his neighbours will pay for the fence. He asked the committee to allow them to submit their idea to the planning department.
“Of course, it is for the residents of McDonald Street, but a fence is also for the privacy and peace of mind for the Busby people, too,” Little said. “Those who are less fortunate are stared at and on public display by people driving by, and that's not right, either. If you get that fence built, it then directs people right to the front entrance, which faces the Barrie (courthouse) and not homes.”
David Busby Centre executive director Sara Peddle told BarrieToday they have talked with people involved on their end and hope to have a compromise soon.
“The Busby Centre is working with our landlord and community partner at Canadian Mental Health Association to plan for privacy space at 88/90 Mulcaster St.,” Peddle said. “We do have limited space to work with, but we are committed to finding a solution.”
Coun. Keenan Aylwin, whose ward includes this area of the city, told BarrieToday that, from the building committee’s point of view, they will also work with both sides for a decision that works for both parties.
“It's ultimately up to the Busby to apply for any permits they need to build the fence, but we are working with them to do what's best for the participants in Busby programming as well as the residents in the neighbourhood,” Aylwin said.
City staff will continue to look at the fence proposal, but no decision has been made.
