Cambridge’s committee of adjustment voted Wednesday night to divide up a parcel of land on Acorn Way – an issue which has divided the neighbourhood itself.
Women’s Crisis Services of Waterloo Region hopes to purchase some of the land to build a new women’s crisis shelter.
Haven House, the group’s current facility in Cambridge, has outgrown its current home.
The Acorn Way site has been the focus of the group’s efforts for the past three years. The property currently belongs to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Hamilton, as does the adjoining Christ the King Catholic Elementary School.
And according to some neighbours, women’s shelters and elementary schools – there’s a public school nearby as well – just aren’t compatible.
“I just don’t want my kids walking past an emergency crisis centre on their way to school,” says Melissa Hollman, an area parent.
More than 300 people signed petitions against building the shelter, also expressing concerns about security and lower property values as a result of the new Haven House.
Mary Zilney, executive director of WCSWR, says the organization studied effects on the neighbourhood when another of its facilities, Anselma House in Kitchener, was built near a school.
They found that property values continued to climb consistently with the rest of the city after Anselma House opened – and crime wasn’t a concern, either.
“Abusers don’t show up on the property because if they do, they’re going to be videotaped and we’ll have the police here. They don’t want to cause a ruckus with anyone except their spouse,” she says.
That’s no comfort for Hollan, who says neighbours opposed to the shelter feel as though their concerns aren’t being listened to.
“They will do whatever they can to make it appear as though this is welcome in our community,” she says.
“They’ve put in so much work, they don’t want to listen to any words against it.”
Opponents of the planned 45-bed shelter have 21 days to appeal the city’s decision.
