A MOTHER-of-three has said drug abuse and spiralling anti-social behaviour at the flats where she lives in north Belfast may force her into emergency accommodation.
Christina McNally said she was becoming increasingly frightened by behaviour at the Flax Street complex.
The 29 year-old single mother claims she has been verbally abused in the communal hallways and has to shield her children from people openly injecting drugs.
The single mother and her children - one who has special needs - said her family had witnessed a number of terrifying incidents including one man of a man trying to throw himself out of a flat window.
On Monday night in an adjacent block of flats in the same complex, a man was stabbed. It is the latest in a series of incidents at the flats, which are operated by NB Housing.
Ms McNally, a resident at the complex for the past five years, said she is "terrified" for her children who are six, three and 12 months-old.
She recalled seeing drug users "injecting themselves" in the hallways and said in a recent incident was "verbally abused" by one drug user who "doesn’t live in the building" but had gained access.
Ms McNally said in recent weeks her children watched as a man tried to throw himself out of a flat window in a block of flats opposite hers.
"We all witnessed that, it was awful. That was a terrible experience," she said.
"In here, they would party, the usual noise, people running up and down. The main thing is drugs, drug bags lying about. You see needles lying about. You walk into the building and all you can smell is grass.
"I am terrified even to walk out my flat."
Ms McNally said she and her children narrowly escaped serious injury last month when a TV was thrown out of a window of one of the flats and landed beside them as they walked below.
"I found a blade, a real sharp one outside and when I reported it, they (housing association) said they don't own the car park but it's all one complex. It's absolutely crazy," she said.
Ms McNally said it had got to the stage where she was prepared to "go into an emergency hostel if I could, for my safety and for my kids' safety".
"You don’t feel safe," she said.
"I’m terrified for my kids because they are so young. It’s not fair my children have to witness this. It’s not safe around here at all".
SDLP councillor Paul McCusker said there had been grave concerns about the flats for months.
"I have been told of a mother who has had to send her children to live with their grandmother because it's too unsafe. That just proves where we are at," he said.
"I have e-mailed NB Housing as there has been no immediate support or reassurance to residents following the stabbing the other night.
"The gate has been broken for a number of months and has not been fixed. We have asked to have a static security person there each night to reassure residents".
Mr McCusker added: "People are frightened. People are not sleeping. That is certainly no way to live. One parent had to walk her kids to school through that blood bath the other morning following the stabbing. The impact it is having is very worrying.
"NB Housing are not providing a duty of care to the people in those buildings".
In a statement, NB Housing said it had invited Mr McCukser and residents to a meeting to discuss "a way forward".
"We have also arranged a meeting with the PSNI to discuss any options available," it said.
The housing body said it had "increased security patrols" and "secured more frequent PSNI patrols" and "arranged a meeting with our contractor to consider repairs to strengthen the vehicle gate as this has been vandalised".
