‘I don’t think you can categorize all the homeless people as one because some of us don’t do drugs. Some of us are not selling drugs,’ says homeless woman
Colborne Street East has become a gathering place for homeless people and drug users and it’s driving away business and leaving customers feeling scared, say local business owners.
There’s a daily gathering of homeless people and drug users around the Tim Hortons on the south side of Colborne and across the street at Municipal Lot 1, where the Lighthouse outreach van comes daily, providing food and other necessities.
“They come because of the Tim Hortons and the Lighthouse food truck but then they just stay here,” said Parisa Shirazi, owner of InnoKids Park, an indoor children’s play centre at the 17 Colborne St. E. plaza beside Tim Hortons.
Business at InnoKids Park has dropped, said Shirazi, who opened the centre in March.
“Two of them (customers) just cancelled their reservation because when they came to our parking lot, they saw the homeless in our parking lot. It makes the place not appropriate for children and their families,” said Shirazi.
“One of them lives in our parking lot. He sleeps in front of the door. My customers don’t want to come out of their cars because they are scared. I can’t get in my door because he sleeps there. When I ask him to move, he shouts at me,” she said.
During the summer people congregated daily in the parking lot, often smoking weed.
“All of us smell the weed in our space,” she said.
Shirazi said she has not been harmed but is constantly faced with garbage outside the door, including broken beer bottles and pipes. She says she has witnessed sexual activity at the back of the building.
“The city should do something,” she said.
Constant loitering on the property has spilled over to the adjacent plaza where people loiter and congregate all around the plaza building, some staying for weeks at a time, said John Hammill, publisher of OrilliaMatters, which has its office in the 17 Colborne St. E. plaza.
Hammill called the police to report a woman who had been living on the plaza property for weeks. Police charged her with trespassing.
“They just made her move to the other side of the fence to Tim Hortons,” Hammill said.
“If I had to summarize the problem, we have drug dealers and users using and dealing in broad daylight with nothing being consistently done or monitored by any level of enforcement,” said Hammill.
“We have homeless people living on the Tim Hortons property and the owner is just letting it happen, he provides no significant loitering oversight. When the drug users mix with the homeless people, that’s when it gets ugly and people get hurt,” he said.
OrilliaMatters emailed the Tim Hortons owner twice with questions. He did not return either email.
Plaza business owners report frequent use of foul language, drug deals, use of drugs, sexual activity at the back of the plaza during the day, persistent loiterers and lots of garbage and belongings including suit cases, shopping carts and garbage bags.
People have also been living across the road on the grass boulevard locally known as the “garden.”
Emergency services were called recently to the Tim Hortons for someone who had collapsed, Hammill said.
“It’s not the homeless that are problem. It’s the heavy drug users,” he said.
The owner of Georgian Bay Printers — Print and Signs in the plaza said she doesn’t mind the regular homeless people, who know her and move when she opens the store. It’s the drug users that cause problems as they loiter around high creating an unsafe environment for everyone, she said.
“Something really needs to be done,” said the business owner, who did not want to give her name.
“Somebody needs to get this whole drug issue out of downtown Orillia and that’s the only way local businesses are going to be supported,” she said.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Orillia and District moved out of the plaza to a new location on West Street North last fall. The unit remains empty.
On the other side of Tim Hortons is the old Packet & Times building at 31 Colborne St. E.. The two-storey brick structure is currently for sale or lease. Owners installed motion detectors and lights and 24-hour video surveillance. Recently, they added sliding industrial gates with barbed wire on the top to keep people out.
The John Howard Society of Simcoe and Muskoka (JHSSM) has been operating from the 17 Colborne St. plaza since 2012. Hayley Murdoch-Fyke, executive director, said they are currently only open on Tuesdays during which they offer court support services.
“Previously, we were open four days a week which allowed individuals to come inside our office, and staff had the opportunity to monitor the property more. However, at the request of other tenants we were asked to reduce our hours. This in turn means we are unable to provide services to people and the community on a consistent basis,” she said.
“Our clients must wait to be seen for their scheduled court appearance and that may take several hours. We ask any clients who wish to get some fresh air while they wait, to do so at the back of the building at the request of the other plaza tenants,” said Murdoch-Fyke.
Staff have never suggested the plaza is a safe place to sleep and they refer their unhoused clients to the Lighthouse. she stressed.
“Homelessness is a nationwide epidemic and there are simply not enough beds in our area to support the number of people who are experiencing homelessness,” she told OrilliaMatters.
“Housing is scarce at best and treatment centres have long wait lists over six months long. Wrap-around supports are also limited, making access difficult. Social service agencies across the region need sustainable funding to support the most vulnerable in our communities,” she said.
More community resources and empathy would go a long way, Murdoch-Fyke added.
A senior sitting on the entrance steps of OrilliaMatters office said she is housed locally but has seen a lot on the street.
“The drug problem is bad. It’s been bad for a while and it’s getting worse. I hope the police and the landlords will start doing something. I hate to say it but there’s going to be a death one of these days,” said the woman who was unwilling to provide her name.
April Mountney, sitting on a curb at Tim Hortons, said she became homeless on June 1 when she left her abusive boyfriend. She said she’s been living on the block outside or “getting into a car to sleep so I didn’t get robbed or hurt.”
Asked why she’s been sleeping close to the Tim Hortons, she said, “We are not allowed to put up tents anywhere.”
Mountney said she doesn’t like that homeless people are being lumped in with drug users.
“I don’t think you can categorize all the homeless people as one because some of us don’t do drugs. Some of us are not selling drugs. Some of us actually get rid of the hard core ones.”
Mountney said she and others have recently “kicked out” the drug users from the block.
“I don’t think it’s going to get any better. The government gives all the housing to the immigrants. There’s not enough housing for the people who were born here,” she said.
Shlomo Bibas, landlord for the Colborne Street plaza, responded to questions with a letter copied to all his tenants, saying he acknowledges their concerns and frustration with the ongoing situation.
“The situation began to escalate in the spring, following the city’s efforts to address and remove several large homeless encampments in Orillia,” Bibas wrote.
“Unfortunately, the result has been that homeless individuals have become much more dispersed throughout the downtown area, and our building has experienced a significant share of this activity. The presence of the Tim Hortons immediately next door appears to be one of the factors attracting people to our immediate area.”
He goes on to say he knows that individual businesses have called police and the building superintendent has also made numerous calls to the OPP.
“Unfortunately, despite these efforts, the activity continues to be a daily occurrence,” Bibas wrote.
To help remedy the problems, he has had additional security cameras installed and is looking at ways to improve surveillance and lighting around the property. He said he is also seeking assistance and cooperation from the Tim Hortons owners to have a coordinated approach.
“As a property owner, we can improve lighting, surveillance, maintenance, and security, but we cannot solve a broader homelessness and public-safety issue on our own,” he wrote. “I believe we all need to continue to respectfully but firmly escalate these concerns to the City of Orillia and the OPP.”
City council set up a business support working group in September as an emergency measure to find solutions to businesses suffering from the effects of homeless people living and loitering around their work places. That came in the wake of news that eCapital was moving out of Orillia, in part, due to issues similar to those expressed by Colborne Street businesses.
“Two meetings have taken place and more are scheduled … OPP staff are part of the working group,” said Shawn Crawford, Orillia’s director of legislative, building, parking and transit services.
Council’s approved motion also asks the mayor to request the OPP to increase foot patrols in the downtown area and enhance police presence in the vicinity of The Lighthouse shelter. It also includes a mayoral direction to communicate with the County of Simcoe about Orillia-specific strategies to address and mitigate encampments within Orillia.
“Staff expect to work with council to implement recommendations resulting from the working group,” said Crawford.
The OPP did not respond to requests for comments about this issue in time for publication of this article.