Regina mother highlights safety concerns while renting from housing authority

A longtime program user of the Regina Housing Authority is speaking out about the lack of safety her family deals with. Mick Favel explains.

A Regina mother renting from the Regina Housing Authority (RHA) is calling for changes within the housing agency.

Larissa has been utilizing RHA services for over a decade. Throughout that time, she’s expressed concerns – mostly due to a number of neighbours renting homes from the same agency.

“I was so grateful to finally have what I thought was supposed to be a safe home. That’s why I didn’t escalate things fully until recently, because enough is enough,” she told CTV News.

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Larissa says her family has been exposed to domestic violence, including fights in the middle of the night between neighbours – in addition to drug users near her home.

Several members of Larissa’s family are asthmatic and deal with other autoimmune diseases.

Since moving in, the second-hand smoke has greatly impacted the air quality in their home. The living situation is impacting everyone in the household.

“[The children] tell me they are scared. We are all in counseling, trying to deal with these things in healthy ways,” Larissa explained.

She went on to say to say that there’s a high turnover rate in the units surrounding her family’s home. Larissa says she’s contacted the Regina Housing Authority dozens of times over the years to do something about the situation.

In a statement to CTV News, Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Social Services said that tenants are encouraged to reach out to their housing authorities if they have concerns about another tenant – adding that all suspected illegal activities should be reported to their local police service.

“Housing authorities work with tenants to help solve issues. When avenues to address concerns have been exhausted, housing authorities then follow all Office of Residential Tenancies processes to proceed with an eviction,” the statement said.

Larissa said her daughter has spent her entire life in their home, and it isn’t right for the family to pick up and leave due to other residents’ behaviour.

“No one is listening, and these things need to stop,” she said. “They’re literally traumatizing my family and there is no reason to do that.”

Larissa said she has called the Regina Police Service several times over the years to address incidents with other tenants.

In a statement to CTV News, the police service said it is unable to speak to specific cases but encourages residents to call police anytime they have concerns about the safety and wellbeing of themselves or others.