Tracey MacKinnon, a tenant at McIvor Court in Thunder Bay, Ont., says safety concerns at the building have deterred tenants from wanting to leave their units, especially at night.
A homicide at a social housing building in Thunder Bay, Ont., earlier this month has shone a light on safety concerns residents say have been getting worse. Here's what McIvor Court tenants want to see change, and what community partners and an expert say can help make social housing buildings safer. When Tracey MacKinnon moved into McIvor Court in Thunder Bay, Ont., last spring, she was given a few house rules by one of the tenants in the apartment building.
Tenants at McIvor Court told CBC News the incident speaks to ongoing safety issues at the building, and that it shouldn't have taken a homicide to put a spotlight on the problem."We're 50 plus. We deserve our peace and calm and sanity and safety and security at this time in our lives," said MacKinnon.
Residents say a lot of non-tenants are getting inside the building at McIvor Court and using drugs in the stairwells and outside the elevators. TBDSSAB's tenant support workers play a role in preventing home takeovers, but TBPS takes the lead in removing unwanted individuals, he said. He added that the service received provincial funding last year for an effort called Project House Cleaning, which has helped it expand its partnership with TBDSSAB through anti-gang outreach efforts, enforcement, victim support and youth engagement and education.
Christine Sheppard of the Wellesley Institute says having a strong sense of community in social housing has been shown to improve people's perceptions of safety and security.
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