"Oh, I didn't want to live in the West End ghetto. I'd really like to get a place across Portage....." mused the lady on the other end of the telephone line. I didn't relate to her the rising anger bubbling in my chest, but tried to sound pleasant, "well, we do have quite the community here." Disappointed with this prospective tenant, I hung up the phone a little p.o.'ed. She had agreed to meet with us, as she had wanted a transfer out of her apartment somewhere in Winnipeg to somewhere a little quieter. We have an open suite, but I started having second thoughts. Would I want this type of attitude simmering next door? I thought of Hilda from last week, who is toughing it out at Siloam Mission and would love a chance to have an apartment like ours.
The West End Ghetto. I forget that a lot of people in our city have this view of my (our) neighborhood. I've lived my whole married life here, raised my kids here and cannot say enough about the incredible opportunities for community here. I even recommend people to move into our apartments! We had a tenant/New Life workday the other weekend and 15 people came to scrub baseboards, clean weeds and garbage and generally chat it up for 3 hours. It was a blast. We have tenants like Larry, Diane, Annabella, and Chanda (with 2 young ones in tow) that will pitch in for the benefit of all their block. That's something, that creates community, dignity, 'we care about our place and our neighbors' kind of feel.. If this is a ghetto, I like it, I wish more neighborhoods were like it.
So, if you ever are looking for an apartment in Winnipeg, I'd recommend "The Ruth" here on Maryland, or our other fine block. If you look elsewhere, you may get a nice looking, quiet place, neighbors that leave you alone but mind that you may miss out on community, neighbors that care, a neat church next door and a purpose behind it all.
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