Ward 3 residents demand more shelter for the homeless

Residents living around downtown Windsor want city council to find a place for the homeless and do more about drug users and the needles they leave lying around.

That was the clear message during the Ward 3 meeting Thursday night.

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"There are needles, there are rats, there are people sleeping in the park," said resident Juli McFadden at the meeting. "There are people doing drugs behind my house. My child cannot play in my backyard that I have fenced and put a gate and paid for all the amenities for. I have to teach my child to watch where she walks every day."

McFadden volunteers at her daughter's school, taking kids to Bruce Park where they train for track and field. She said it's her job to check the track everyday for needles or people. 

"At the end of the day our children are going to the park and without being asked if they're afraid or having a problem with it, are being forced to run around sleeping strangers," she said. 

Residents complained that those who can't find a bed at the Downtown Mission put up tents.

McFadden and the executive director of the mission, Ron Dunn, said they went from offering 100 meals on a heavy day to over 700 regularly. 

"These people are hungry," said McFadden.

Ward 3 Councillor Rino Bortolin responded to McFadden's comments by listing proposed upgrades to Bruce Park such as replacing the playground and providing more programming. 

"You cannot force these people into a shelter," said Bortolin, who said that not all shelters in Windsor are full every night. "This issue is North American wide."