Residents of troubled St. John's neighbourhood say community centre could be a lifeline

Mark Wilson, who lives on Livingstone Street in central St. John's, says the provincial government should invest in a community centre in the neighborhood. The centre would help residents by, for example, providing addiction and mental health support programs, he says. (Danny Arsenault/CBC)

Residents of a downtown St. John's neighbourhood with a long history of struggles with drugs and crime are calling on the provincial government to establish a community centre to help address the area's challenges.

Mark Wilson of Livingstone Street says there are housing issues in the neighbourhood, which includes Tessier Place, and not enough mental health or addictions support for residents.

"Folks often don't have the ability to advocate for themselves," he told CBC News this week. "So I think having a community centre, much like the harm reduction van that shows up once a week in the neighborhood, we need people to be able to access those health and other services."

Earlier this year, a man was shot in the area. A 2021 shooting sent a man to the hospital. In 2019, In 2019, a man was stabbed on Livinginstone Street and died from his injuries shortly after. Residents have also spoken to CBC News about violent neighbours and needles found on the streets and in parks where they take their children.

The community needs a centre that can provide mental health and addictions support programs and staff who can help residents navigate government services, which aren't reaching everyone who needs them, he said.

"This is a place where you can really see how vulnerable people are losing touch with the system. The system, which is supposed to be a fail-safe to keep them out of harm's way, is not working here," Wilson said.

Ashley Conte, another resident of Livingstone Street, says she can see the benefit of having a community centre.

"I think it'd be good for the kids to go into a program, and I think it would help the community a lot," Conte said. "It would be better for something to be near the area."

"People need support — someone to reach out to them whenever they struggle. Someone to talk to. Everyone needs someone to talk to."

Ashley Conte, who lives in the neighborhood, says a community centre would a place where people who need help can find support. (Danny Arsenault/CBC)

Provincial NDP Leader Jim Dinn, the area's MHA, says a community centre can bring people together and be something that responds to their needs. Some people in the neighborhood are forced to rely on each other for housing support, for example, because they have nowhere else to turn.

"We've had people come to my office who have been unfairly evicted or people who are trying to find housing, and we've got basically neighbours in this area trying to help them find those accommodations and advocating on their behalf," he said. "I can tell you that in my four years or so as an MHA, the calls have gotten more incessant."

Dinn says the community centres elsewhere in his district, such as in Froude Avenue and Buckmaster's Circle, empower residents through programs that cater to their needs, like after-school programs and activities for seniors.

"I don't know if the government fully realizes or appreciates the value that they get out of their community centres, but they are probably on the front line in making sure that problems don't become worse," said Dinn. "They're actually filling gaps sometimes that the government is not addressing."

But a centre alone won't fix the problems altogether, Wilson says.

"It's not going to be enough. But it's a start," he said. "And it's a start that has to happen now."

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