‘We can’t live like this’: Ukrainian organization in McCauley neighbourhood fed up with public disorder

The Ukrainian Congress of Canada is calling on all three levels of government to address concerns around crime and disorder in downtown Edmonton.

The president of the Ukrainian National Federation branch located just north of downtown said the social disorder he is seeing in the area cannot continue.

The issue was highlighted this week when someone posted a photo online of tents atop the organization’s roof speculating homeless people set up encampments there.

Yehven Burlaka told CTV News Edmonton those tents actually belong to the Ukrainian National Federation.

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He said they recently used them during a children’s camp for Ukrainian refugees and after washing them, decided to dry them on the building’s roof.

“We had 16 tents, so because of the area, it wasn’t safe to keep them outside on the ground or somewhere else, because every time we leave something outside, somebody can steal it or damage it or whatever.”

Burlaka said while the original poster was wrong, the photo has drawn attention to a “much broader, bigger problem”.

He said after people visit shelters in the area they roam the streets, creating encampments, violence and property damage.

“We can’t live like this because we have 100 kids here who, every week, visit our building and they’re really scared. It’s not okay.”

‘We need to see people being supported’: area councillor

The city councillor for the area told CTV News Edmonton she met with representatives from the organization earlier this summer and acknowledged the “ongoing pressures” they are facing.

“The city has a critical role to play in terms of our responses, cleanliness in the area, but there are some bigger problems with access to housing and healthcare that we can’t solve by ourselves,” Ward O-day’min councillor Anne Stevenson said.

She said city staff have been asked to quantify and identify gaps in services such as healthcare so they can better advocate to the province for support.

She also said she plans to make a motion at city hall Monday asking staff work with the province and Hope Mission to “decant” some of the capacity that exists at the two major shelters in the area.

“There’s over 600 emergency shelter beds and that creates pressure, inevitably, on the community surrounding it.

It’s not a result of the people using those facilities, it’s a result of the fact that there is nowhere for folks to be during the day, so they end up being in businesses, around residents, and that can create some disruption.”

Homeless population is ‘out of control’: business owner

A Chinatown business owner, who said he has lived in the area more than 20 years, told CTV News Edmonton the number of homeless people is higher than he’s ever seen.

“It’s out of control right now,” said Tea Bar Cafe owner Andy Chung. “Even the police can’t do anything.”

Chung said the homeless population is destructive and should be “moved”.

Burlaka said he plans to organize a roundtable in the next couple months to bring community and government leaders together.

“Because they are blaming each other. If I am talking with the provincial government, they are telling me that it’s a problem with the city but if I’m talking with the city, they are saying that it’s about mental health or social issues and it’s related to the provincial government.

“They should work together.”

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Marek Tkach