Neighbours concerned shed used as home on city land By: Malak Abas Posted: 7:00 PM CDT Wednesday, Sep. 14, 2022 Last Modified: 8:34 PM CDT Wednesday, Sep. 14, 2022 Updates

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 13/09/2022 (833 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

An unassuming tiny home suddenly appeared one day in August, tucked between a park and community garden in St. James.

Despite having no running water or plumbing, the building, which is the size of a large shed, is being used as a home.

The Free Press went to the home twice. Each time, no one was there.

A neighbour said the tenant told him he was gifted the house by a friend.

A blanket was tacked over the porch entry; bedding, sandwich ingredients and half-eaten vegetables were visible through a window.

A propane can marked “Jerry’s,” a lighter, and a calling card from a provincial public safety investigator are outside the shed. Painted on the back wall in white paint are the words, ”Be the way you want the world.”

Residents are concerned about the appearance of the tiny home, which was illegally put on city property, says Scott Gillingham, the councillor for St. James who is running for mayor.

“They’re just concerned about the house being in that location, and people coming and going from the location,” Gillingham said Wednesday. “I share their concerns, it’s not an appropriate place for a house.”

Gillingham contacted city services; he said staff is looking for a solution that doesn’t “just push people from one location to another.”

“City staff is involved to make sure that the individuals living there get the help that they need and the assistance. Ultimately, the home needs to be removed from that location,” he said.

A gardener who uses the adjacent land to grow vegetables said the person who dropped off the home — known only to him as “Jerry” — has lived in the community in a tent on the same piece of land for several summers.

“Almost nobody knew he was there. He was quite quiet, and he’d come and use the water a bit, and that was it,” George Ingram said.

He said many residents are concerned because other people who stay in the home have been loud. One woman even walked into an unlocked home, Ingram said.

“City staff is involved to make sure that the individuals living there get the help that they need and the assistance.”–Scott Gillingham

“If you’re in this neighbourhood, you’re not used to it, so then you sort of freak out, they call the police, the police take her away, and then people noticed,” he said. “I think that really got the neighbourhood upset about it.”

Winnipeg Police Service public information officer Const. Jay Murray said they had received one call in the past month about individuals illegally living on someone’s property, but he did not confirm it was the property in question. In that case, the owner of the property did not want to press criminal charges.

Ingram said he is torn. He doesn’t share the feelings of some homeowners, but he worries the lack of electricity will be dangerous come winter.

“I’m sort of split. In some ways, the idea of someone just coming along and putting a sort of house down on city property, does not agree with me,” he said. “But in a more practical point of view, there’s only Jerry there, and he sort of sticks to himself.”

The resident of a home next to the land said it has been untouched for more than a decade.

He’s had one confrontation with a person who was staying at the tiny home, when they tried to use his electricity. Other than that, they’ve kept to themselves and he hopes they’re allowed to stay.

“They’re stuck, they’ve got no place to stay,” the man, who asked not to be named, said. “I’m going to shoo them away because it don’t look good to the (residents) three or four blocks around this way?”

Jason Whitford, president of End Homelessness, said he’d spoken with Jerry after concerns about his living situation were raised by the community. He said Jerry told him he has tried to earn an income and housing assistance, but was unsuccessful.

“I think, for the most part, people are sensitive, but there are people who are judgmental and their words attack those who are on the streets, and that does us further damage, that doesn’t help the situation,” he said.

Whitford said Jerry became homeless after being assaulted and receiving permanent impairment.

“One of my questions is, are the community members concerned for their safety, or are they concerned for his safety?” he said.

Whitford said while End Homelessness Winnipeg and the city are working together to connect Jerry with housing, his story is not unique. More people are falling through the cracks and are unable to find safe housing in Winnipeg.

“They cannot access housing through the means that they have access to,” he said.

“One of my questions is, are the community members concerned for their safety, or are they concerned for his safety?”–Jason Whitford

“Some of the housing that they can access is undignified, it’s infested with bedbugs or cockroaches, or doors without locks, or there are predators and violence… That’s the unfortunate reality.”

In the meantime, Whitford said he hopes the situation is dealt with in a way that affords everyone involved the dignity they deserve.

“Hopefully, his hand is not forced and he’s not forcibly removed, (that) he’s moved out willingly into a better place, and a safer place.”

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca