Salvation Army shelter proposal will further ghettoize Vanier
Plan will simply shift problem from one area to another, says Avik Jain.
The proposal to place a homeless shelter at 333 Montreal Rd. is not only a blow to the morale, security and prosperity of the Vanier community, it shows that Mayor Jim Watson is complicit in the further ghettoization of a struggling area of our city.
Watson has expressed his support for the Salvation Army’s poorly advertised proposal, which is finally reaching the public through the efforts of concerned local merchants. This proposed centre has the potential to be exorbitantly costly to taxpayers. The Salvation Army is in the process of buying the building at 333 Montreal Rd., and it is very much accountable to the taxpayers of Vanier and greater Ottawa; the charitable organization receives millions in public money by virtue of its charitable status and matching provincial and city funds. It will also have the opportunity to apply for federal funding to build its proposed facility.
Instead of paving the way for this project, the city should advocate for dispersed group homes, a job training strategy, the renovation of existing shelters and clinics and the training of more social workers. Building jails does not dent crime incidence, and building another shelter will simply shift Ottawa’s homelessness problem rather than resolve it.
Vanier has already borne the burden of the larger Ottawa community by hosting a methadone clinic, women’s shelters, and motels converted into emergency housing. This proposed shelter would only be a block away from a pot shop and an LCBO.
Despite these difficulties, Montreal Road and the community as a whole have managed to make great strides.
Much is being done in this neighbourhood, which is home to my bank, my family doctor, and my volunteer job; so much can so quickly be lost if Montreal Road reaches a saturation point with the absorption of a major shelter. The proposed facility will result in the same issues that are occurring downtown: Merchants will face an uptick in crime and loitering and a downturn in prospective clientele, while lower-income families and students will be driven out due to the likelihood of violence and the decay in quality of life.
Why add pain to the punishment of the good citizens of Vanier, who already are dealing with more socio-economic problems than the rest of the city? Would Watson want to live next to a shelter? Would you? Would a city planner want her kids to walk to school while passing drug addicts and aggressive panhandlers? We can assume that none of the female city councillors would feel safe walking by a homeless shelter at night. If they are honest with themselves about this sad reality, will they stand up to the mayor?
A homeless shelter would never be proposed in a neighbourhood such as Rockcliffe Park, New Edinburgh or Island Park. Why? Because in these high-income areas, there are few new Canadians, the residents vote in high numbers, and many politicians and developer-donors live there. I should know — I am a resident of Rockcliffe. When you walk in Orléans, Barrhaven or Kanata, you don’t see chequecashing and pot establishments everywhere; you see that garbage on Montreal Road. If anything, the mayor should not support adding nonsensical projects to Vanier; he should be forcing some of the unsavoury venues out.
This ghettoizing proposal must be stopped because it will further stigmatize Vanier by raising the crime rate, lowering property values, decimating the business community, and staining the respectability of Ottawa by imposing a veritable slum on our collective conscience. This should not be happening in Canada. The most economically and socially vulnerable people who are striving to make a little progress should not be treated in this unjust manner. Avik Jain is an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) support worker, and a MA candidate at Boston University. He fills up his tank on Montreal Road and takes his brother, who has autism, to the family physician across from the Wabano Centre for Aboriginal Health.
When you walk in Orléans, Barrhaven or Kanata, you don’t see cheque-cashing and pot establishments everywhere …