Allegations leveled against Mustard Seed at community meeting

Flats neighbourhood residents are exploding in anger over the situation with drug use in the community, identifying the Mustard Seed’s operations as the epicentre of the problems.

The meeting at the police station Tuesday evening was to discuss the issues, however, it saw Community TV publisher Tom Fougere kicked out and arrested for attempting to bring light to the neighbourhood furor.

That incident came following serious allegations against the actions of Mustard Seed staff.

“When the Mustard Seed had its open invitation meeting, when they were initially going to start in the Flats and there were all the concerns, everybody showed up at that meeting and the entire neighbourhood was bold-faced lied to by the Mustard Seed,” said Clayton Stevens. “Everything they said at that meeting has turned out to be a lie.”

Stevens said during the meeting with the public, MHPS and Mustard Seed officials on Tuesday evening at the police station that the Mustard Seed hadn’t lived up to its commitments to the community.

Food delivery to the elderly, counselling and job placement, promises of no drop ins or loitering are some of the commitments made by Mustard Seed officials that they’ve failed in keeping, said Stevens.

“You stood there and lied to the whole neighbourhood,” alleged an irate Stevens. “You knew everything you said was crap.”

Those remarks were met with applause by the three dozen in attendance to the meeting.

In reply, Dani Bolduc, Mustard Seed community development specialist, said the mission of the organization is to help vulnerable people.

“Our mission when we come into a city, when we get asked to come into a city, is to bring hope and wellbeing to the most vulnerable people through God’s love,” said Bolduc. “That’s anyone that’s walking through our doors.”

An unknown number of individuals were invited to the meeting with a number of those people letting other residents know of it while the time, date and location was also posted on social media.

Community TV is not identifying individuals whose stories shared at the meeting are shocking and who made it clear they fear for their safety living near facilities run by the Mustard Seed.

One mother described the situation as like being under siege in her own home.

“This is not a fun situation. This is becoming increasingly difficult. I work a brutal job in a man’s world. I come home from long days and just want to relax in my home. I don’t want knives pulled on me. I don’t want to be swung on with clubs. I don’t want fist fights in front of my house,” she said.

She added the parents of her child’s friends won’t let them come play at her home due to the unpredictable nature of the individuals who may be in the surrounding neighbourhood.

Additionally, she said she can’t afford to move but has purchased a dozen cameras to monitor her home as well as other security measures.

“I shouldn’t have to protect my home like this. I shouldn’t have to worry about my kid coming in contact with fentanyl or carfentanyl.”

She added children are having to react to individuals suffering from overdoses.

She said the problem is a zoning issue rather than one which can be strictly focused on the Mustard Seed, a comment which garnered applause.

Stevens told the Trash Panda the city knows the Mustard Seed facilities are located in areas not properly zoned for the services they provide but they continue to do nothing to address the issue. He also claims neighbourhood residents have been intimidated when trying to bring issues up regarding the Mustard Seed.

On the issue of zoning, MHPS Chief Al Murphy said zoning wasn’t a policing issue but they will forward that concern to city officials.

Stevens told the Trash Panda he’d spoken to the city’s business licensing department Wednesday morning and received a call from City Manager Ann Mitchell about the issue as he described the situation to Community TV.

He said the issues being raised continually get shuffled off to others as no one appears to be willing to accept responsibility for dealing with the drug-use problem plaguing the neighbourhood. That was the case with Mitchell, he said, just after he got off the phone with her.

One individual said at the meeting that everyone deserves compassion but levelled a strong allegation on the behaviour of staff at the Mustard Seed.

“I’ve seen staff members take really high-quality donations, size them up for themselves in the front window and put it on a different pile and put the other stuff in a bag,” adding there is evidence of this act.

Community TV spoke with several individuals who serve vulnerable people in the city who spoke of this allegation being prevalent in the unhoused community.

There were also accusations against improper actions by staff by those looking to assist Mustard Seed clients with warm clothes after they were required to evacuate the overnight shelter due to a small fire.

Others identified that kids are playing in the streets because area playgrounds are locked. Stevens went further, describing to the Trash Panda how children were dropped off at a school bus stop in front of a man who died from an overdose on a bench.

After a little more than 25 minutes of what was scheduled as a 90-minute meeting involving the public on a matter of great public importance, Chief Murphy told Community TV publisher Tom Fougere the gathering was not a public meeting.

However, at the beginning of the gathering, Murphy said they weren’t trying to keep anyone out of the meeting but selected a cross-section of individuals who have raised concerns to be invited.

He continued to tell Fougere to not record the meeting over the calls of those speaking he had their consent to do so as well as some who didn’t.

A vote was called for by those in attendance with Fougere maintaining the gathering was a public meeting being held in a public facility.

Fougere was then physically removed from the meeting by police and subsequently arrested.

For his part, Fougere said police used excessive force in expelling him from the meeting, an allegation corroborated by two witnesses. He said his genitals, fingers and shoulder were injured in the incident.

“I follow orders from police,” said Fougere regarding his policy in dealing with law-enforcement. “I wasn’t given orders to do anything in this case.”

He added he was violently removed from the meeting by three or four officers, “that used excessive force.”

His telephone was seized and not returned. However, several other individuals at the meeting did record the proceedings.

Another meeting will be held next month, possibly at the Veiner Centre, regarding the issue, according to Chief Murphy. He added to reach out to MHPS Staff-Sgt. Darcy Brandt if they know individuals who wish to be invited to the next meeting.