Sudbury church to install fence amid ongoing drug use, vandalism outside

A downtown Sudbury church is building a fence around its property, following repeated problems with drug use, vandalism and safety concerns on its grounds.

St. Mary's Ukrainian Catholic Church has been dealing with the issue for a long time. Father Peter Bodnar, who has served as pastor for two decades, said the situation has worsened significantly over the past five years.

"It's not a nice environment outside of the church, when people have to come in and it's full of needles and feces and vomit or blood stains," Bodnar said.

"Every morning we have to clean up."

He also said small fires have been started outside the building.

Despite installing security cameras, the church has not been able to stop the activity.

Trees planted around the property were cut down in an effort to increase visibility for police, but it made no difference, Bodnar said.

A contractor has now been hired to build a fence and gate system around the property. It will remain open during services but be locked during off-hours.

The church is now fundraising to cover the costs of the fence, which is around $29,000.

"We're not putting fences to keep people away from the church," Bodnar said.

A dramatic transformation

Carol Shyminsky has been a volunteer for the church for two decades and has witnessed the dramatic transformation of the area firsthand.

"You wouldn't believe what these people carry. They carry 2x4s. They will carry bottles. They will carry a knife," she said. 

Shyminsky, who will be 85 in August, explained that the church's fundraising activities, particularly their kitchen that makes cabbage rolls and pierogies, are crucial to the church's survival.

However, the surrounding environment has become increasingly challenging, making daily operations difficult.

"We've found knives stuck in the church door," Shyminsky said.

'Trying to keep everyone safe'

Michael Gawalko is a parishioner who lives in the area and often helps clean up the church premises. 

He said the church has become a dangerous spot for children, with discarded needles and drug paraphernalia scattered around. 

"I always tell parents to look around first and check for needles, because kids don't know what needles are," Gowalko said. "They're inquisitive, so they might play with them." 

He has sympathy for those living on the streets and said many might come from difficult backgrounds of broken families, abuse, or addiction.

"What can we do? [We're] just trying to keep everybody safe, the people that come to our church, because if they don't come to our church, then we don't have a church," he said.