Apartment buildings like Rivercrest on 11th St. W, have not been getting great reviews of late. (Nigel Maxwell/ paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

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No quick fix to addressing derelict apartments, says former landlord

Mar 27, 2019 | 5:53 PM

Demolition is not the answer to addressing safety concerns in the city, according to one former downtown landlord.

Vern Temple, who used to look after the building known as “The Snake Pit,” prior to its demolition in 2014, is weighing in on the two recent homicide investigations at the Rivercrest apartment building. Temple also owns the former CB Building on Central Avenue,which he has closed after running into problems with marginalized tenants and violence. He aims to fix it up although the mayor wanted it demolished.

“The city’s plan with us was to take possession of the building and bulldoze it. Well those people have just moved some place else and the same things, and even worse things are happening,” he said.

On March 20, a 21-month-old boy was found unconscious at the Rivercrest apartment building and later died in hospital. The boy’s father was charged with second degree murder. Two days later, a 22-year-old man was fatally injured in the same building. Five people were later arrested in that case. Since the incidents, some people have been vocal on social media, saying the building needs to be torn down.

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Temple said people don’t realize closing a place down can cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars.

“There’s restrictions. You can appeal situations like that and it ends up in court for years,” he said.

When asked what he would do to address the situation, Temple said the solution is complicated but explained it needs to start with government involvement, and more funding to help the landlords.

“Most people want to change if they realize what they are missing out on like family, children, good employment or a good paycheque,” he said.

Temple suggested a few possible answers may be paying to have a counsellor or worker come into the building, possibly living in the building, and work with the families. He added there has been some great work done by other groups in the city to address the situation. One of those groups is Homeward Bound.

Manager Dave Hobden said his program has seen a lot of success, and he attributed that to the decision to get many groups involved.

“We need to involve partnerships with mental health and addictions and work with that. And that’s why we have our own in-house nurses and in-house addictions counsellors,” he said.

Homeward Bound is a YWCA program meant to help at-risk individuals overcome their personal issues by placing them into stable housing. Hobden said a lot of their clients have gone on to make some positive changes in their lives, such as gaining meaningful employment.

Hobden echoed Temple’s words, explaining the answer is not as simple as evicting tenants or tearing down a building. Hobden said through his experience, once you provide shelter and supports, other elements including criminality can be addressed.

“Hopefully, that will be the impetus for them to change,” he said.

Hobden explained he is now working toward a new centralized housing plan that would involve getting all the partners together who are working with housing, and get them all on the same page.

The member of the legislative assembly for Prince Albert Northcote has a background in social services. Nicole Rancourt said it’s been really sad to hear what’s been happening in the city the last week. She said both incidents are good examples why more funding is needed for mental health services and addictions treatment.

“It’s very important that we stay connected with the front line workers who are seeing these issues regularly and really listen to how we should be targeting this money,” she said. “If we are, in fact, investing money in the wrong areas then we need to make those changes.”

Rancourt encouraged landlords with concerns or questions about available funding to come by her office.

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nigel.maxwell@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell