‘I don’t know what we’re going to do’ Tenants scramble to find housing, help after being forced from apartment building under order to vacate By: Joyanne Pursaga Posted: 6:45 PM CDT Monday, Aug. 21, 2023 Last Modified: 7:40 PM CDT Monday, Aug. 21, 2023 Updates

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One hand held a purple suitcase filled with her most prized possessions and the other clutched a cat carrier, as Brandy Genaille obeyed the order to leave her home Monday without knowing where she’d stay next.

“I don’t know where everybody’s going to go… Somebody should be helping us, like put us in a hotel… I don’t even know what I’m going to do with my cat,” said Genaille as she left the Adanac Apartments in the West End, which has had problems with gangs, drugs and violence.

She feared a shelter wouldn’t accept her cat, making it especially challenging to leave the apartments at 737-743 Sargent Ave.

On Aug. 16, Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service issued an order to vacate all suites in the building by 2 p.m. Monday, after officials deemed it unfit for tenants. The site must remain empty until all outstanding fire code violations are corrected and the building passes an inspection.

Genaille planned to seek details about her housing options from a support worker.

“It’s hard. I had to rush around and grab my most important things to bring out outside. I don’t know what we’re going to do,” she said.

A few police officers and WFPS officials entered the building shortly after 2 p.m. Monday, while tenants began leaving around 2:45 p.m.

Another woman, who said she had been homeless in the past, said she planned to stay with a friend but wasn’t yet certain she would be able to do so.

“I’ll have to try and figure this out… I can’t take any food. I have no food, no money, no way of getting anywhere. But I’ll manage probably somehow,” said Janet, who did not give her last name.

Another resident was determined to stay in his home, arguing the site has a strong sense of community and its owners respond to tenants’ concerns.

“These people here are like family… This block is good. This is my home. I’m not moving my cats,” said Thomas Williams.

Main Street Project and St. Boniface Street Links outreach workers were on hand to offer displaced residents rides to a reception centre, where support workers aimed to help them connect with accommodation and other services. Some appeared to accept that option.

The order to vacate the building followed a WFPS inspection that found numerous fire and safety issues at the apartment building, including: a “significantly damaged” fire alarm system; suite doors that are damaged, missing or have holes; extension cords plugged into hallway outlets to provide power to suites that lack it; an absence of accessible fire extinguishers; and large items blocking a fire escape in multiple suites.

In addition, “no smoke alarms were present in any suite that were accessible at the time of the inspection,” the order states.

In an email, WFPS said its fire prevention staff have gone to the building 101 times since 2019 and its emergency crews responded to 542 fire and emergency medical calls at the site during the same period. WFPS also responded to five fires at the property last year and five so far this year.

“I can’t take any food. I have no food, no money, no way of getting anywhere. But I’ll manage probably somehow.”–Janet

The statement said WFPS reinspected the building Monday and deemed it to have “a number of unresolved deficiencies.”

“Life safety is the top consideration of the WFPS and we do not issue vacate orders lightly. This building has serious safety concerns and fire-code violations that must be addressed to ensure residents are safe,” wrote WFPS spokeswoman Erin Madden.

Coun. Cindy Gilroy, whose ward contains the apartment block, said the city had no choice but to issue the order to protect the residents because the safety risks are so severe.

“We have to make sure that the lives and safety of people outweigh the fear of where people are going. I fully support the city on this just because this has been an ongoing concern,” said Gilroy.

The councillor urged the provincial government, which has jurisdiction over housing, to provide more intensive supports to low-income residents.

However, others argued more effort could have been made to keep the residents in their suites.

“It’s a shame the city hasn’t thought of putting a fire marshal in (the apartments) with maybe a team of outreach workers for a few nights… with fire extinguishers on every floor. There’s a way to do this without forcing people out of their homes and I just don’t think this was well enough thought out,” said Marion Willis, executive director of St. Boniface Street Links.

Willis said her organization had recently housed about 20 people in the Adanac building, though the numbers fluctuate. She said it can be especially difficult to find housing for people with addictions, so it’s essential to preserve as much housing as possible.

Despite the proactive supports set up for the displaced Adanac residents on Monday, she said she fears some may end up homeless due to the disruption.

Instead, she’d prefer more support services to be put in place within buildings where at-risk people reside.

“The solution, really, is that there actually has to be intensive case management teams in these buildings and they need to be here 24 hours a day… Unfortunately, there are no funds for that,” said Willis.

“There’s a way to do this without forcing people out of their homes and I just don’t think this was well enough thought out.”–Marion Willis, St. Boniface Street Links

She noted fire-code standards can be tricky to meet in buildings where tenants struggle with addictions, noting Street Links has seen folks it supports repeatedly remove smoke detectors, at times mistaking them for cameras.

The Adanac Apartments are owned by Karin Harper-Penner and her husband, Patrick Penner. In a brief interview, Harper-Penner told the Free Press the building has at least 38 renters. Many people shared their suites with a roommate and others frequently allowed friends to stay.

She said work is well underway on repairs.

“It is a community in there and this is just blowing it up… We’ll be working 24/7 to get it resolved,” said Harper-Penner.

Al Hoeft, divisional secretary for public relations at the Salvation Army, said his organization, Main Street Project and Siloam Mission joined Manitoba employment and income assistance officials to try to support the displaced residents.

He said finding low-income housing options that are affordable and safe is not a new challenge.

“We want people housed but we want them housed safely… It’s an ongoing struggle,” said Hoeft.

In a written statement, a provincial spokesperson said the Manitoba government has been working closely with the city to address the order to vacate the apartments.

“The department of families, and (its) partners, have been actively communicating with and supporting residents of the Adanac in order to facilitate a smooth transition to (alternative) housing,” the statement said.

The province said its reception centre included officials from Manitoba Housing, employment and income assistance and the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, who will help the residents connect with benefits and find alternative places to stay.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga