By Iain Marlow
Doug Gabelmann doesn’t mind the prostitutes he sees when he walks his dog in the morning.
It’s the man who mistook his 15-year-old daughter for a prostitute and followed her home that has him worried.
A member of the Dalhousie Community Association, Gabelmann says residents are concerned about increased prostitution and drug use, which many feel migrated to Centretown from neighbouring Hintonburg.
“People are just a little upset,” Gabelmann says. “There are some people who have expressed concern just about the sheer number. You know, getting propositioned at 11 o’clock on Sunday morning.”
Somerset Coun. Diane Holmes says her office has noticed more complaints and attributes it to the crime decrease in Hintonburg.
“There has been a clean up, or a concerted effort, in Hintonburg to close drug houses and to move prostitutes out of that area,” Holmes says. “And that has simply meant that there have been more drug houses open up and more prostitutes arriving in Centretown.”
Across the tracks, the change is clear.
Once infamous for crack houses, rampant prostitution and other crime, Hintonburg is “better than it’s ever been,” says Cheryl Parrott, a member of the Hintonburg Community Association.
Gone are the drug-related street brawls, HIV-testing for children who touch discarded syringes, used condoms littering the streets, fearful, isolated residents of Hintonburg’s less peaceful days, she says.
But that doesn’t mean she will rest easy.
Centretown’s crime increase isn’t new. It’s a “resurgence,” Parrott says and should be a warning to Hintonburg.
“The chances of it coming back [to Hintonburg] are very high,” she says, “that’s why we need some permanent solutions,” she adds. “But in the meantime you can’t just live beside a crack house. It’s unacceptable for anyone.”
Somerset Community Police Const. Art Wong says Hintonburg “effectively, cleaned up their streets.” He says he wishes the whole city could share Hintonburg’s “strong sense of community,” but doubts the possibility.
“Downtown it’s high density, you’re looking at apartment buildings,” Wong says, “It wouldn’t surprise me that you could talk to someone in an apartment complex who doesn’t even know his neighbors. ”
But even as Kitchissippi Coun. Shawn Little scales back some community meetings for a lack of problems to solve, no one pretends the problem is gone.
“It’s a temporary improvement right now,” Little says. “I’m hoping it will be permanent.”
Various long-term solutions are already in place. “John schools” educate men about prostitution’s effects, while “Jane schools” encourage women to leave the sex trade. Ottawa police offer prostitutes a diversion program, and the Elizabeth Fry Society of Ottawa provides counselling programs, outreach services and housing for women in need. Little says he introduced a “landlord school” for landlords whose properties become drug havens.
In June, the federal government announced funding for four drug courts – social program alternatives to prison for drug-related offences – across Canada, with one in Ottawa.
Holmes says the drug court would bring much-needed resources to the community, but it’s not enough.
“[Hintonburg has] pushed the problem out of their area, which from their point of view is useful. From a long-term perspective, it’s not very useful. That’s why we need the drug court. We need drug treatment programs. We need affordable housing.”
Holmes has called a community meeting for Oct. 18 to discuss the issue.