By Nathan Maki
In response to security concerns about Ottawa’s subsidized housing, the Ottawa Community Housing Corporation is increasing security funding, hiring in-house security officers, launching a 24/7 call centre, and helping develop tenant associations in its 14,000 rental units.
Mayor Bob Chiarelli replaced the entire housing corporation’s board of directors in July 2004, citing their failure to respond to safety concerns about prostitution, drug dealing, and violence in corporation buildings.
The new board developed a Community Safety Initiative through consultation with tenants, tenant groups, and other stakeholders, and is taking these steps in response to the initiative’s 49 recommendations.
“We’re essentially doubling the amount of money that we’re going to dedicate to security,” says Ron Larkin, CEO of the housing corporation. He says OCHC has been spending $900,000 annually on security manpower, which is now doubling to $1.8 million.
Most of the increased funding will go towards hiring a new chief of security and eight new community safety officers.
Larkin says the security chief should be hired within the next two weeks and will help OCHC in selecting the other officers.
“We want them to be representative of the community, including minorities,” says Larkin. “Our security people that we will be hiring will be ambassadors.”
Somerset Coun. Diane Holmes says that’s a good start.
“But they can’t be spread too thin or we’ll be back where we started.”
To ensure that doesn’t happen, the new officers will reinforce, not replace, the current security services contracted by the corporation, Larkin says.
In the future, OCHCits security officers given special constable status, with the authority to make arrests.
“We’re not there to take over the Ottawa Police Service,” says Larkin. “We’re there to complement, assist, and to help.”
Holmes says the contracted security guards have been slow to answer calls and tend to communicate poorly with the tenants. “The determination was made that we would get our own staff so we can train them the way we want,” she says.
The housing corporation has already purchased vehicles for the new security force.
In the meantime, OCHC is going ahead with a 24/7 call centre, providing tenants with immediate access to voice concerns or report problems.
Diane Elder, a resident of a subsidized building on Somerset Street, says the call centre is comforting.
“They do have security people in the neighbouring area that you can call if you need to,” she says, adding she moved into the building in August after the triplex that she used to live in, not owned by the housing corporation, was broken into.
Other tenants were not as pleased with the security.
“Security? What security?” says Alison Mahoney, a resident at one of the corporation’s west end buildings.
She hasn’t seen a visible increase in security at her building since April.
Larkin says the tenants used to be cut off from the corporation, but that is changing.
“We have made a connection with our tenants. That’s one of the achievements I’m most proud of.”
To further build that connection, the corporation is encouraging the development of tenant committees in its buildings to provide a forum to voice and address concerns.
Tenants have formed 10 new associations so far since the Safer Community Initiative’s recommendations in April, Larkin says, raising the number to 65.
That still leaves 97 communities without an organized tenant group.
“We want to see all our communities ultimately represented by tenant associations,” says Larkin.
“I find that quite encouraging because there are tenant committees forming in most buildings, sometimes informally,” Holmes says.
Bemnet Abraha, a Nepean Street resident, gives an example of one such informal tenant association.
He says he was growing concerned a few months ago about the increasing traffic of non-residents on the 11th floor where he lives.
“I spoke with some of my neighbours about it and we spoke to the city of Ottawa. I don’t see much traffic now; it seems ok now.”
Holmes says she agrees that this kind of community involvement is important.
“It’s all part of feeling that that’s your home, that you’re protecting it and sustaining it.
You won’t be breaking furniture if you helped raise the money to buy it.”
Larkin says he is delighted with the progress so far.
“It’s getting there, but admittedly there’s a lot yet to be done.”