Windsor's City Councillor for Ward 3 said he relates to the concerns of residents living near the Downtown Mission, and that's why he's hosting a town hall meeting at City Hall on Tuesday night.
"I live right around the corner from the Mission. I see it every day," he said. "We really want to try and help the people at the Mission, but we also want to really help the people living around the Mission. Nobody should have to deal with crime, break-ins, and people urinating in front of their homes."
Those concerns came to light a few weeks ago when one frustrated resident posted about his difficulties on Reddit.
(A screenshot from video submitted by Nick Amlin)
Nick Amlin respects the work of the Downtown Mission, but an uptick in crime since June has left him and his wife struggling to cope.
"There's been many times -- where I'm sleeping on my couch, fully-clothed, in case I hear someone trying to break into my house again," he told WindsorNewsToday.ca last month.
Agostino hopes residents, police officials, and Downtown Mission Executive Director Rukshini Ponniah-Goulin will find short-term solutions.
(Photo courtesy of Windsor City Councillor Renaldo Agostino)
Ponniah-Goulin said last month the location at 875 Ouellette Avenue no longer met the Mission's needs. Eventually, she'd like to relocate it close to the new Homelessness and Housing Help Hub.
The deadline for proposals for a new site for the hub passed last month, but Agostino said realistically, the move is a few years away.
"I want to put it out there right now. If anybody can show up with a cheque for $5-million tonight, that will happen instantly," he said. "But if not, it's going to be four or five years before we get H4 up and running -- What do we do in the meantime?"
He has some thoughts on how the city can address some of the issues faced by neighbours.
"I see garbage everywhere, but I don't see any garbage cans. There's no lighting," said Agostino. "There's a lot of small things that we can do at a community level, at a municipal level, that we don't need to change the wheel or the advocacy of higher government."
Agostino admitted it won't solve every problem, "but we could eliminate 60 per cent."
The meeting starts at 6 p.m. at City Hall.
