Tenants at 444 Kennedy want action after meeting with Manitoba Housing

Tenants at a Manitoba Housing complex in Winnipegfelt heard, but want action after a meeting with Manitoba Housing officials on Friday.

It was a forum for tenants at444 Kennedy St. to raise safety concerns after an incident in December, when a man apparently high on meth unleashed a fire extinguisher and hose on people in the building's common area.

• After fire extinguisher mayhem, Manitoba Housing tenant renews calls for more security

Around 30 people many seniors with walkers or canes, most living with some form of illness gathered in the housing complex's common area Friday and waited for their chance to share experiences withtrespassers, drug activity and crime at the building, and the desire for bettersecurity.

"I came because we live in a hellhole. We have cockroaches, we have bedbugs, we can't control the door, addicts come in, drug dealers come in," said Jonathan Garwood, who lives on the 16th floor.

"I'm OK because I'm a capable person that knows how to take care of myself. My friends are extremely terrified. They're terrified to go to the laundry room. They're terrified to use the stairs. They're terrified to go out at night."

Both the director and manager of Manitoba Housing security hosted the meeting, acknowledging the tenants' concerns with 444 Kennedy, especially given its location in Winnipeg's Central Park neighbourhood. They told residentsthe buildingis "first on their list"for updates to camera systems, door access cards and a faulty wall panel system at the front door, and those changes are coming in 2018.

"The argument is we should have more security, and security doesn't work," said Dave Grayston, director of security for Manitoba Housing. He reiterated that at this time,no changes are planned for security at any Manitoba Housing building.

He said the building's overnight security people positionscontracted out by Manitoba Housing to SRG arenot trained or expected to intervene to remove trespassers, or disruptive or violent people, from the property. By contrast, Manitoba Housing's own security staff, responsible on an on-call basis for all properties in Winnipeg, have more training and equipment to do so.

"You can intercede if you can do so safely," said Grayston. But people high on meth or who are otherwise intoxicated can be aggressive and unpredictable, he added, andthose casesare better handled byWinnipeg police.

But several tenants said they feel at risk when these individuals are continually allowed in the building as a result of security's inability to intervene.

Tenant renews calls for security after police visit Manitoba Housing complex 25 times in the last month

7 years ago

Duration 2:17

A tenant who's spoken out in the past about safety issues at his building is calling for increased security and an urgent meeting with Manitoba Housing officials after a man unleashed a fire extinguisher and fire hose at him and all over the building on Sunday.

While at least three people left the meeting in frustration, including the two men involved in the fire-extinguisher incident,many others took advantage of the two and a half hours they had to expresstheir fears andfrustrations, and provide suggestions for improving the building's safety. Many left the meeting seeming hopeful.

"It'll make me feel safer. If we have cameras in the stairwells, there'll be no more defecating in the stairwells, and shooting up and all that because the guy down the stairs will have the camera to see there's no people doing things they shouldn't do," said CariLa Riviere. She echoed several tenants' requests for more security coverage and for on-site security to be equipped with protective vests and more training.

"It's a lot of lip service. We hear the same thing at each meeting. They're acknowledging at least that our problems are real and they're saying they're going to work on them."

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Many tenants said they had hoped Manitoba Housing Minister Scott Fielding would be at the meeting.

A spokesperson for Fielding said he was away this week. In an email, Andrea Slobodian said "Manitoba Housing officials want to reinforce that the tenantsare being heard and that Manitoba Housing will provide an informed response to issues raised at the meeting.