A robust, and at times contentious, discussion at City Hall on Tuesday evening over issues surrounding the Downtown Mission in Windsor.
A town hall was organized by Ward 3 councillor Renaldo Agostino to give people an opportunity to address issues surrounding the homeless shelter located at 875 Ouellette Ave, which sits between Erie Street and Elliott, and backs onto Pelissier Street.
Last month, a resident in the neighbourhood raised concerns via social media that there was a need for more support in the area around the Downtown Mission.
A sizeable crowd of nearly 100 people turned out to share their experiences, what they would like to see, and looking for answers.
The discussion started off regarding garbage and debris around homes near the Mission, with many saying they were understanding of people's issues and the need for help but that they shouldn't be able to "shoot up in our front yards".
One resident, Ron, has a place across the street on Pelissier and says he can't keep a good family as a tenant due to safety concerns.
"Because they're petrified that if their kids go walk outside they're going to get stabbed by a needle and stuff like that. I had tenants, amazing tenants for 10 years, until this stuff started happening and they had to leave. They said 'We love you Ron and Lynn, you're the best landlords, but we can't stay here'".
Another contention residents had was over comments made by Mission officials that the neighbourhood is safe.
One woman says she felt the need to speak up after hearing them.
"It is not a safe neighbourhood at all, I went from never calling 911 in my entire 32 years of living, to I think I'm up to three 911 calls in less than a year. We have called the non-emergency line almost every single day for different, various incidents," she said.
Ashley Shepley, a member of the Windsor Community Connections teams, spoke during this portion of the discussion to say that Mission officials have reached out to outreach teams about night time garbage, and they've been focused on trying to deal with it.
However, Shepley did also agree with the residents who believe it's not a safe neighbourhood.
"There are things happening in our city that a typical person who's not involved with the street life would never be comfortable with. So I agree that it being listed as an unsafe neighbourhood would be correct because we don't have the security out there," she stated.
An older resident who recently moved back to Windsor after living in Barrie, Clint Tyler, believes the fact that residents of the affected neighbourhoods are having to get so loud about the issues to have something done is a problem in itself.
"I'm hearing people, as us just common ordinary folk, taking responsibility for having to fix the problems and taking it on ourselves. No, we have a government that's supposed to help us and we have a large contingent of policemen and officers."
Tempers were raised when the discussion moved to the location itself, and the need to find another one, which Agostino acknowledged while trying to cool things down.
"Everybody here acknowledges that there is a problem, everybody here wants solutions, and that's what we're here to talk about. I don't want to put the roadblocks on you, I don't want to put the roadblocks on anyone, because you're right. You're right, it's in the wrong spot, everybody here knows that!"
Dan Bryant, who lives on Park Street, has been with Central United Church that set up the Mission 50 years ago.
He spoke about some of the broader issues of homelessness that have a direct impact on the problems going on, including the lack of night time options for people without a place to go.
"One of the solutions I'd like to see is maybe the City of Windsor looking at the hub they have right now for the homeless people, where they can come in get food, get showered, and whatever, why can't they open that 24 hours a day? So people have some place to go," he said.
Agostino described the meeting as 'Round 1 of a 12 Round fight' concerning finding solutions to the issues, and he along with Windsor Police took notes of the complaints raised by residents to be able to plan for the future.
As part of his ward funds, Agostino also mentioned that he will be looking at lighting for alleyways in the area to try and improve visibility and safety, but added that would be one of many things they need to do to deal with the issues.