‘It’s been hell’: Neighbour of Newmarket supportive housing unit fed up with trouble next door

Anne Brodie boils a pot of hot water in the kitchen of her beloved home, situated in a sleepy Newmarket neighbourhood.

It is dim in the room, with very little light shining in, because three potted plants sit on the window sill, blocking out any ray of sunshine.

“It’s really tough to live on high alert all the times,” said Brodie.

She has owned her home for eighteen years, but she said the last eight years have been “hell.”

“It’s just been a constant onslaught of profanity, beatings of people that I’ve witnessed,” added Brodie.

A gardener, Brodie said she can hardly spend any time outdoors because she fears for her safety.

“I haven’t sat in my backyard in eight years.”

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That is when Loft Crosslinks Housing and Support Services moved a tenant in next door.

Loft’s CEO Heather McDonald said it is “a support organization that helps people achieve their optimal health and wellbeing in the community by providing mobile on the ground services to assist them including supportive housing.”

McDonald said she is aware there have been some problems on Eagle Street.

“We have reached out to Anne and actually been by the house and been by to her place and would continue to want to support her and not stop to work with her and the neighbourhood,” said McDonald.

Brodie does not buy the reassurance, because for years she said, she has been begging the organization for help.

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“We’ve sent our complaints and they’re solid complaints … and they say ‘oh yes we’re working on it,’ that’s the general phrase.”

Brodie said most people would not put up with what she has witnessed.

“There has been public sex, illegal bonfires, property damage, bizarre behaviours and he used to stick his dogs on us. It’s just a laundry list of troubles,” detailed Brodie.

“We’ve been to the police, we’ve been to the bylaws, we’ve been to a tribunal that he didn’t show up to we’ve tried everything and nothing has helped.”

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Global News reached out to local Councillor Bob Kwapis, who acknowledged the frustration that people in the neighbourhood are feeling “when enforcement officers are called in to respond to complaints in the area.”

“I am hopeful that the Loft organization will continue to work with their tenants and the residents in the area to find a solution that will suit the needs of the community and those impacted,” he said in a statement.

McDonald reassured “our neighbours in the community are an essential part about building a healthy community.”

But Brodie points to the three “For Sale” signs across the street.

People are fed up and moving away, she said.

Global News has confirmed in 2014 the neighbour was charged with uttering threats and was sentenced to 90 days in jail.

And in 2017, he was charged with two counts of public mischief.

“He comes up with some really creative aggressive hostile and lewd things to do,” said Brodie, adding she has no plans to sell her beloved home and move.

She does hope, however, that one day, she can invite friends over without fear or shame.

“I never know what the day is going to bring. This is a terrible situation, it needs to be known.”