Calgary stabbings: Brentwood house's new owner wants to help heal community
New owner says they 'just want to do good in this house where bad was done'
It's been almost seven months since five young Calgarians were fatally stabbed at a home in the city's northwest.
There is still a memorial outside the blue and white stucco house, which sat vacant for months, located in the community of Brentwood.
They have brought such light to the neighbourhood.- neighbour Michael Gregor
Some people wanted the house torn down and the property turned into a park but 23-year-old Kaiden Osbourne decided to buy it when the owner listed it for sale.
"My mom said to me, 'Kaiden isn’t there any other houses in Calgary you could buy?,'" he told the Calgary Eyeopener. "I said, 'Absolutely, but this is more than just a financial opportunity, in fact this isn’t going to be a financial opportunity, it’s going to be something far deeper than that.'"
Osbourne is now living in the home with four roommates. The men all know each other through the Centre Street Church in Calgary.
Greg Vanderwielen, a plumber who recently moved to Calgary from Hinton, Alta., said when Osbourne asked him to move in, he told him the history of the house before he agreed.
"He told me what his plans were for the house and that he wants to just bring this community back together, put it back together and I said, 'Sign me up,'" said Vanderwielen.
Nathan Masson described himself as a "new Christian." He was a U.S. Marine for 10 years and recently moved to Calgary. He was living at the Salvation Army and heard about what Osbourne was doing through Osbourne's parents.
"You know there’s a lot of people who don’t realize what we’re trying to do here," he said. "We get called crazy, or whatever, but we’re doing something that a lot of people are too afraid to do."
Welcoming neighbours
Neighbour Michael Gregor said the new residents are a welcome addition to the area.
"It’s just really nice to see that the lights on in the house again. It’s nice to see the wonderful kids that are there," said Gregor. "They have brought such light to the neighbourhood."
“I’ve never been so well-received in a neighbourhood before. Just for the first week I was here, people were dropping food off and just furniture and things," said Vanderwielen. "People have been super, super nice and really excited that somebody is here."
Masson said people now wave and smile when they walk by the house.
“We just want to do good in this house where bad was done,” said Osbourne.