Amy Morrison used to help people in need in the city's downtown core.

"I am compassionate," said the owner of the Boot Shop, on James Street.

But the problems associated with homelessness and drug addiction in the area - the mess, the discarded needles and obviously intoxicated people - have now reached the point that she feels overwhelmed.

And she's scared.

"I used to feed the people that came into my store that now frighten my employees," she said. "I don't feel safe. Now my staff are afraid, my customers are afraid."

Her concerns were echoed by many of the approximately 150 people who attended a St. Catharines Downtown Association meeting at Robertson Hall Thursday night to discuss their common problem.

"I don't feel safe for my customers to send them to our downtown store. I'd almost recommend them to go to a different store," Morrison said.

"What do I do when I come to work tomorrow and I have vomit, feces and urine for my staff to clean up as their morning routine? Who do I call?"

Business owners were encouraged to contact the city as well as Niagara Regional Police to report issues.

Meanwhile Mayor Walter Sendzik and city representatives, plus NRP Insp. Marco Giannico, Niagara Region's homelessness director Cathy Cousins and community services commissioner Adrienne Jugley provided information on initiatives underway to deal with an issue that's affected communities throughout southern Ontario and beyond.

Jugley said the situation changed significantly in the past two years, "when the vacancy rate dropped and the price of rentals went through the roof."

"It happened dramatically for Niagara in a way that Niagara had not experienced," she said, adding the opioid crisis began to emerge at about the same time "and it started the perfect storm."

"There are organizations that are working full steam ahead on the opioid issue in Niagara. There are also groups working hard on the mental health issues in our community. All those organizations are coming together," Jugley said.

She said the problems are often highlighted in the media, but "you don't hear about all the efforts and all the work that's going on and all the people that are being assisted."

Niagara overdose prevention site saving lives

New approach suggested for homeless shelters

Funding agreement reached for St. Catharines overdose prevention site

Positive Living Niagara: Politicians need better understanding of local drug problem

Overdose prevention site approved for St. Catharines

Niagara joins national initiative to end chronic homelessness

For many of the obviously frustrated business owners and residents at the meeting, those efforts are falling short of resolving the issues.

St. Catharines developer Nick Atalick said tenants and staff in his building at the intersection of Carlisle and St. Paul streets experience the same problems almost daily.

Not satisfied with the response from police, he said he has begun offering his tenants rewards for reporting problems within the building, hoping to prevent break-ins, vandalism and thefts from continuing.

"We need to get vigilant to manage this problem," he said.

Craig Doig, who runs a private security business, was also critical of the police response.

He said funding for a police foot patrol program downtown is provided through taxes paid by area businesses, but only two officers are currently assigned to walk the beat.

"At what point do police take responsibility for the fact that they're not out there?" he asked.

"I understand your frustration. I myself would love the luxury of having more resources, " Giannico replied, adding police are struggling to provide a minimum number of frontline officers. "We have 12 municipalities in Niagara, and we're stretching our resources all across them."

Atalick suggested expanding shelter programs, adding the problems he's experienced are at their worst in the summer months.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

"Why can't we open a shelter during the summer so we don't have this problem that we experience?"

Jugley said people choose not to use homeless shelters during those months for various reasons.

"In the summer, we actually have some empty beds. Do I think that Niagara needs more beds? Probably," she said, adding she hopes it's not a long-term solution.

"If I put all our investment, all of our homeless money, into shelter beds, it will get worse and worse," Jugley said.

Instead, she said, the Region needs to continue investing in programs that help people avoid needing shelters in the first place, and to assist the 1,800 households that used the shelters last year get back on their feet.

In response to a heckler who told him he is part of the problem because his units are not affordable, Atalick said new affordable housing units won't fix the immediate problem because it takes years to build them.

"Shelters might fix the problem quickly," he said. "Unfortunately, we can't wait 24 months to fix this problem. I don't see how affordable housing is going to fix this quickly."

While Personal-Eyez owner optician Rachel Hill shared many of the same concerns, she also offered a suggestion to help.

"I'm getting to know my community, and that is what's going to make me safe," she told fellow downtown business owners.

Hill said a 23-year-old staff member was alone working at the business when a man walked in and started undressing. While she said she'd like to have more than one worker present in the store at all times, that's not economically viable for many businesses.

Instead, she urged neighbouring businesses to keep an eye on one another.

"I need you guys to walk by my store and maybe look in my window and say, hey something's not right there. She's not safe," Hill said.

"There has to be some out-of-the-box thinking relative to a long-term approach to this," said Alex Digenis, the owner of Henley Honda.

While he called the programs being undertaken encouraging, he said he still has concerns that adequate resources will be made available to resolve the issues.

"I'm looking forward to a Niagara solution where all levels, the whole region, can get together and come up with solutions to support policing, to support homelessness initiatives and certainly to address the addictions that are facing vulnerable people," Digenis said.

Allan.Benner@niagaradailies.com

905-225-1629 | @abenner1