Crumbling Summerside, P.E.I., drug house to be bulldozed

A crumbling house in Summerside, used as a drug hangout for young Islanders that has also brought pests into the neighbourhood, will soon be bulldozed.

For about five years, the little green house on Sheen Street has sat empty while it slowly rotted.

It's a home Peter Holman, Summerside city councillor, knows all too well.

"There's been issues with critters living in this particular property and the neighbours have had enough. It's certainly an eyesore and it needs to come down," he said.

Holman and his colleagues have been working since August to find the owners, with no success.

At the moment, the home’s only tenants are rats and raccoons. The city said the problem isn't just the critters living inside. They say young people have broken in through a window, and started using it as a drug house.

The city had no choice but to act, said Holman.

"Unfortunately, these kids can be careless, they could set this place on fire, and it could take several houses with it. So we need to curb it as soon as we're made aware that this is what's going on in these properties," he said.

"Life goes on at night time, that people in Summerside would be shocked or don't know about," said Andy Lou Somers.

Somers knows first-hand the serious drug issues facing youth in Summerside. She's involved with a support group for parents dealing with children's drug addictions.

"Any place they can find that would be a safe place. Warm in the winter, and not be seen by anyone, of course that's where they're going to go," she said.

Back on Sheen Street, Holman expects the house will be bulldozed by year's end at a cost of just under $6,000.