Inner-city churches grapple with ‘crimes of opportunity and desperation’ By: Chris Kitching Posted: 6:13 PM CST Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023

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This article was published 16/11/2023 (1076 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

After another fire in a vacant building next door and a rash of break-ins, members of a Point Douglas church are asking themselves if the congregation has a future in the neighbourhood.

Stephanie Sarlakis, secretary of Holy Ascension Greek Orthodox Church, said crime and social issues appear to have worsened in the central Winnipeg area in the last couple of years.

“Our parishioners have said they feel unsafe coming to the area, even for Sunday morning services,” she said. “There has been quite a bit of talk about (moving), but there are challenges with that, as well.”

Sarlakis fears the church’s home (197 Euclid Ave.) could one day become yet another vacant building in an underprivileged area which, she said, needs more supports for people affected by poverty, addictions or homelessness.

Holy Ascension has been broken into three times in the last two years. It is one of several places of worship grappling with crime in the city.

A Bible and chalice were among the items stolen when the church was ransacked in June.

“Basically, anything that appeared to have gold on it, they took it,” said Sarlakis. “It’s crimes of opportunity and desperation. It’s signs of the time in society.”

The church, which has a very small congregation, has spent thousands out of pocket as a result of burglaries, vandalism, illegally dumped trash or damage caused by fires in a neighbouring property.

Holy Ascension cannot get insurance due to the state of its 85-year-old building, which needs a new roof at a prohibitive cost, said Sarlakis.

“This is an example of how vacant buildings haunt inner-city communities … The reality is there are way too many boarded-up buildings and they’re so vulnerable to fires and squatters.”–Sel Burrows

On Wednesday, firefighters stopped flames from spreading to the church while battling a blaze in a vacant commercial building at Main Street and Euclid Avenue. There were similar efforts when crews put out a major blaze in October 2021.

Sarlakis said people regularly force their way into the abandoned site and start small fires to stay warm. She has contacted the City of Winnipeg multiple times about the building not being secure.

The decaying property, which has a collapsed roof, is for sale at a reduced price.

Sel Burrows, co-ordinator of the local Point Powerline tip line, said he repeatedly contacted the city in a bid to get the building properly boarded up.

“This is an example of how vacant buildings haunt inner-city communities,” he said. “The reality is there are way too many boarded-up buildings and they’re so vulnerable to fires and squatters.”

City spokesman Kalen Qually said the property has been monitored by the vacant building program since September 2021. Two inspections have taken place since then.

This has been a record year for fires in vacant buildings, with 104 reported as of mid-September. Some in Point Douglas were gutted or reduced to rubble.

City hall’s new problem property committee has helped get buildings boarded up faster, said Burrows. The city has new rules intended to crack down on owners and speed up demolitions.

At Holy Ascension, parishioners regularly find needles left behind by drug users. Someone cut through a new chain-link fence two weeks after it was put up. Homeless encampments are common in the area.

Church members have been trying to get more involved in the neighbourhood to build relationships, help people in need and curtail problems.

Sarlakis believes the area and its challenges are being ignored. “It’s really sad that this is happening, and we don’t know what to do or how to help.”

People who live, work or worship in Point Douglas and other areas are facing similar issues and concerns.

Our Lady of Lourdes Church (95 MacDonald Ave.) has recently dealt with garage and vehicle break-ins, vandalism and illegal dumping, resulting in financial strain and safety concerns.

Parish council member Stephanie Casar said some issues have become more apparent since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. “We know there is a homelessness problem in the city and an addictions epidemic. We are very sympathetic to those issues.”

A homeless encampment that had been on a boulevard in front of the church for about two weeks was removed Tuesday, after a parishioner called 311. The parishioner claimed some members had been afraid to visit the church.

The encampment was vacant when it was removed by contractors, said Qually.

Kate Sjoberg, director of community initiatives with Main Street Project, said factors such as divestment, a dwindling number of affordable rental units, rising living costs and impacts of the pandemic are pushing more people into poverty or homelessness.

“All of these things combined mean the pressures for very low-income people are worse than ever,” she said.

Our Lady of Lourdes, which has a small congregation and recently marked its 60th anniversary, collects donations for community support organizations.

The subject of moving has come up before, but the church has stayed put, said Casar.

In Brooklands, Holy Ghost Ukrainian Catholic Church (40 Ada St.) has suffered three successful or attempted break-ins in the last two months. Thieves mostly stole religious items and food.

“It’s getting to be pretty annoying,” parish president Andrew Pankiw said of the burglaries. “It’s an indicator of what’s going on in our society.”

Similar to Holy Ascension and Our Lady of Lourdes, Holy Ghost is a small church with limited resources. Even if someone is charged and convicted of the break-ins, Pankiw isn’t confident they will face sufficient consequences for their actions.

Winnipeg police spokeswoman Const. Dani McKinnon encouraged people to report all crimes. She said incidents are tracked and officers are deployed based on those reports.

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca