Editor's note: Some of the photos attached to this story depict blood and drug paraphernalia.
A woman who left an unsafe home with her two children hoped to find security with an affordable apartment of her own.
Instead, she says she moved from one “nightmare” to another.
Courtney (an alias has been assigned to protect the individual's identity) lives in the County of Simcoe’s owned-and-operated apartments at 475 Second St. The social services hub recently won an award for excellence in human services integration and service system management. Courtney and other tenants say the experience they’re living day-to-day doesn't match the one lauded in the award announcement.
“It is a nightmare,” said Courtney, who has lived at the Second Street apartment building since Sept. 2019. “It’s been bad since I moved in.”
On Saturday, Ontario Provincial Police seized methamphetamine and fentanyl as well as a firearm and ammunition after executing a search warrant on the property. Collingwood OPP were called in to execute the warrant in connection to an armed robbery investigation that occurred in Centre Wellington Township.
Five people were taken into custody, two of them live in Collingwood, and more than 30 charges were laid.
Courtney says there are a lot of drug and mental health issues that contribute to problems in the building, and those problems have existed since long before Saturday’s bust.
“There is a lot of violence. We have drug dealers and drug (users) trying to get into the building all the time, being let in by tenants and then causing risk for others in the building,” she said. “(Simcoe County) Housing has been called for everything and they just say, they’re working on it.”
During the bust, tenants said vomit and blood stained the floors of the hallways. Courtney said no one came to clean it up until Monday.
“We were left to live in that,” she told CollingwoodToday.ca. “Pick a biohazard. We don’t have anybody here to clean on the weekend.”
Courtney says she and her two children moved to the building after being transferred from a local women and children’s shelter. She says she fled an abusive situation that left her with anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. She has installed a camera in her apartment for safety.
“We picked this building because it was a locked-access building, but we’re not safe here,” she said. “My kids can’t go outside at night because people try to grab the doors to get into the building. My son walks a woman’s dog because she’s afraid to go outside the building alone.
"We’re hostages in our apartments," she said.
“Nobody cares. OPP tells us we’re supposed to call (Simcoe County) Housing. Housing tells us we’re supposed to call OPP,” said Courtney. “I’m deadly allergic to fentanyl, and this has become my worst nightmare. I can’t leave my apartment or touch anything in the hallway because if I touch [fentanyl], I die.”
Four tenants of 475 Second St. who spoke with CollingwoodToday.ca indicated there are about four units with tenants that cause problems for the rest of the building. They all said they see OPP officers at the building everyday.
“Housing will say ‘We’re working on it,' but they have a story too. So, my kids are put at risk, and everybody else in the building is put at risk. I’m at risk of dying because they have a story and I’m supposed to feel bad?” said Courtney, adding that it’s been suggested she move out if she’s unhappy.
“Why should I have to move, or be kicked to the curb and have to suffer?” she said.
Accessibility a concern for some tenants
Bryan Beacock has lived at 475 Second St. since May 2019 when it opened.
“At first, it was OK,” said Beacock. “But, when you start moving an existing problem over here... all the red flags started to go up.”
As Beacock is paralyzed from the waist down, he is confined to a wheelchair and has a service dog. He lives in one of the building’s accessible units.
Since moving in, Beacock said when using the toilet, he has to slide from his wheelchair to the toilet. As he has no feeling in his feet, he didn’t notice that a grate on the floor was raised and cut his foot. He says he required eight stitches.
“The day I came to view my apartment, they had no wheelchair ramps,” he said. “There’s only one door frame in my apartment [to the bathroom] that my wheelchair can get through without scratching it. I don’t have enough room to get my wheelchair into my bedroom. I have to wiggle my butt across the floor to get to the bed.”
“Is that accessible?” he wondered.
Beacock says he feels unsafe "everyday"
From his perspective, the main issues with which tenants are dealing boil down to how long it takes for maintenance to deal with issues, the amount of criminal activity in the building — specifically drug use and sale — and the opening of common spaces of the building to the general public.
According to multiple tenants, there are common rooms in the building on each floor for tenant use, which is included in all lease agreements.
Prior to the pandemic, the County of Simcoe allowed programming in the common rooms between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. for different groups, such as EarlyON and other community groups such as a choir.
Since the pandemic, Beacock says the common rooms have been completely closed to tenants, however he says Simcoe County Housing still uses it regularly for meetings.
“We were promised a lot of things when we were told we could move in here,” he said. “We are being used as an example. They are learning from this building so they don’t make mistakes (elsewhere) that they’ve done here.”
“We’ve been living in hell. When we moved in, we were told we’d be safe and secure,” said Beacock.
Family on the brink
Angela (she asked her real name not be used to protect the identities of her children) has also lived in the building since 2019.
She lives in an apartment with her husband and three children. Two of her children are teenagers, while her youngest is 10 years old.
“There are (other) rentals available, but when they’re asking $2,000 to $4,000 a month for it ... anyone who makes $50,000 or less, you’re left up the creek. With the lack of housing, this was our only choice,” she said.
Angela also says she’s had issues with maintenance not being completed in a timely manner. Her frustration reached such a peak in 2020, as a last resort she reached out to Simcoe-Grey MPP Jim Wilson, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Steve Clark, as well as Simcoe County Warden George Cornell and Deputy Warden Barry Burton.
After sending that correspondence, she says an electrician was sent to address some small issues in her unit, however she didn’t see the larger issues being addressed. She says she has tried confronting problematic tenants herself, however that seems to egg-on harassment of her and her children.
“I don’t feel safe anymore, because I know the drug dealers know who I am,” she said.
Angela said it’s not uncommon to come across active drug deals when entering or exiting the building through the stairwell. She says she takes the stairs because she has become trapped in the building’s elevators on more than one occasion.
“I think probably every tenant has experienced something in those elevators,” she said. “(Housing) makes it seem like a warm-hearted community and they’re doing things for us, but at the end of the day, it’s all just show for everyone else.”
Ross Parr, fire chief with Collingwood Fire Department, confirmed with CollingwoodToday.ca that since 2019, Collingwood Fire has responded eight times to 475 Second St. specifically for elevator calls.
In total, Parr says Collingwood Fire has responded to 34 calls at this location, reasons for which range from alarm activation, medical, elevator and assisting an outside agency (OPP).
“On average, it’s once a week,” he said. “When they first opened (there were more) because there were adjustments to the alarm system and some things weren’t installed right.”
“A lot of it is just because the building is new and they’re adjusting systems. It’s growing pains,” said Parr, adding that any issues Collingwood Fire has identified in the building have been fixed in a timely manner so no citations have been necessary. “It’s run by the County of Simcoe and in my opinion, I think they do a good job with what they have to deal with.”
Angela disagrees.
“Every time I go to (Simcoe County Housing), they placate me for the moment and I guess hope that we forget about it,” said Angela. “This isn’t how I raised my kids. I didn’t prepare them for anything like this. We were simple people in the sense that we went hiking, spent time in nature, had sleepovers in the backyard. We’re just regular people.”
All four tenants who spoke with CollingwoodToday.ca say they have experienced drug users knocking on doors, at times trying to break in, throughout the night while they try to sleep.
“My youngest is now afraid to sleep at night because we can hear banging on doors, yelling and screaming coming from the hallways at all hours. There are some tenants who just like to taunt and harass other tenants,” said Angela. “How many times do I have to get harassed before they’re gone?”
Angela said she deals with mental health issues but had been medication-free. She says recently she has had to get medication to help manage her anxiety brought on by her experiences in the building.
“It’s bull****, because I was so functional,” she said through tears. “I didn’t know I’d be living with all this. I don’t know how to live day-to-day. This building takes up my whole life.”
Angela says her family has applied for Habitat for Humanity, but knows the chances of being chosen are slim with the need for affordable housing being so great. Her husband has been able to get some work, but she worries his income will move the family past the “affordable” range but still not quite able to afford market rent.
“How do we progress and move further? We’re out there being productive and I want to be out there ... but I need to be here because it’s not safe,” she said.
Assault in the hallways
Adam Fish knows first-hand what can happen when confronting noisy neighbours in the hallways.
Fish applied for an apartment in the Second Street building with his fiancée in 2019. Fish’s fiancée died prior to their move-in date, and now he lives there alone with his emotional support dog, Bella.
“I’ve had some interactions (with other tenants) that have been great and have helped me along in my life. I’ve had other ones that were very bad,” he said.
Fish alleges he was assaulted earlier this year by a neighbour’s boyfriend.
“I was trying to take out my garbage, and he thought I was trying to get involved. (I think) he was high. He started punching me,” he said.
An OPP official confirmed that charges were filed in relation to the incident, and the case is currently before the courts.
“He still comes back all the time. I’ve filled out complaint forms and nothing happens,” said Fish. “We never hear back. It’s unlivable here.”
Fish says it isn’t uncommon for children playing in the adjacent playground to find needles or drug paraphernalia in the sand.
“We have these situations that are becoming more and more troublesome,” he said. “It feels like Simcoe County Housing doesn’t care about its tenants at all, and I never feel safe here.”
OPP and Simcoe County Housing Corporation respond
Despite the major police presence over the weekend, many tenants told CollingwoodToday.ca that representatives from Simcoe County Housing still hadn’t come to the building as of Monday afternoon. Simcoe County Housing did, however, send a letter to tenants addressing the incident.
“We have discussed the incident with the Collingwood OPP and they have confirmed there is no current threat to public safety or to the residents at this building,” reads the letter, which is signed by Arfona Zwiers, the county's director of social housing.
The tenants living in the building, however, disagree.
“We’re just getting placated excuses left, right and centre,” said Courtney. “To find out there were weapons in the building when that floor is filled with kids and seniors.”
“We’re garbage on the side of the road – that’s what we’re treated like,” she said.
In response to an interview request, the County of Simcoe sent an emailed statement to CollingwoodToday.ca.
“Regarding this building in Collingwood, the county has had ongoing communication with our tenants. We do not tolerate any illegal activity in our buildings. Unfortunately, it is more difficult to evict due to delays and closures at the Landlord and Tenant Board,” wrote Greg Bishop, general manager of social and community services.
“We are taking these recent developments very seriously and are working to support our tenants,” said Bishop.
Bishop says the county does not conduct criminal record checks for prospective tenants, as he says they are not standard in the rental housing industry. In regards to common rooms in the building, he confirmed they are currently closed due to COVID-19 restrictions.
“However, staff or contractors have used this space on occasion and only when needed to allow for proper physical distancing when a smaller office space would not suffice for brief work process meetings,” he said.
A sign in the lobby of 475 Second St. states that in response to tenant feedback, the County of Simcoe has been working with OPP to support safety measures in the building. The sign states that OPP officers have been invited to be present at the building and have been given full access on-site.
On April 30, a letter was sent to all tenants from Simcoe County Housing alerting them that Garda World, a security company, had also been hired to provide overnight security for the building. The letter also notes video surveillance had been implemented in March.
“As with any neighbourhood or community, isolated incidents, unfortunately, do sometimes occur,” said Bishop. “In addition to the county’s actions, we encourage tenants to contact the police if they see or witness any illegal activity.”
Collingwood OPP Const. Martin Hachey says OPP attend all calls for service.
“In some cases, if it’s serious enough, we would lay charges,” said Hachey. “What’s likely happening is, when they’re told to call the County (of Simcoe) ... it could be a neighbour dispute. At that point, as officers, we cannot put conditions on a person if we don’t have charges laid upon them. If we can’t lay a charge, we can warn them, but hopefully, the county can do something (more),."
“While a person may feel threatened, it may not meet the criminal threshold, but there may be a lower threshold for the county to ... evict or not," he said.
Hachey says that whenever anyone feels afraid for their safety, they should call the police.
“They should (also) be calling Simcoe County Housing so (Housing) can at least have a history on file on certain persons or tenants. Then, in an extreme case, they could go to the tribunal and it could lead to eviction or removal,” said Hachey. “That process takes a very long time, but that certainly is an option they have.”
“It’s complicated when you live in such close quarters,” he added.
