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Miguel is a long-time resident of Regent Park area. He is also a member of the Regent Park Neighborhood Association, the Coalition for Community Benefits, and the Tenant Representative for 220 Oak St, a Toronto Community Housing building. Miguel is also an Indigenous man originally from Peru. Miguel’s activism is born from his personal lived experience as an indigenous person, and as someone who is living with physical and mental issues. In his own words, Miguel has said, “my life long project.. is to leave a better society, a better place for everyone, and a living legacy.” In May of 2021, with the discovery of residential school burial grounds of indigenous children, Canadian society was rudely awakened to a history that had remained hidden, forgotten and set aside… a history of oppression, and some say genocide. “The remains of 215 children, some as young as 3 years old, have been found buried on the site of what was once Canada's largest Indigenous residential school —

Award winning and popular Regent Park hospitality hub PaintBox Catering & Bistro closed indefinitely according to a letter written by its founder and owner Chris Klugman and published in the restaurant’s website and social media, citing being defeated by the pandemic. “PaintBox is closed” says a written statement to customers and partners.   “I am writing this letter with a heavy heart to inform you Paintbox is closing effective immediately – and to apologize for any inconvenience or challenges this may cause anyone. This was not an easy decision to make. However, like many companies and organizations, this 22-month long pandemic with no end in sight has simply been too much to manage. With a new surge and other variants on the horizon, with a renewed government lockdown and cancelled catering, Paintbox is out of financial resources and no longer tenable.” Klugman said in the letter. Chris Klugman expressed his deepest thanks to Daniels Corporation President and CEO, Mitchell

Lindsay Jackson, a community development officer with the city is leaving her position in Regent Park. The SDP also known as the Regent Park Social Development Plan, is a community wide initiative consisting of various city funded projects and activities aimed at building social cohesion and inclusion. The role of the SDP Planning Committee is to set the agenda for the SDP Stakeholder Table, which is the main decision-making body for the Social Development Plan. The SDP membership is made up of TCHC residents, Market residents, Agency representatives and Grassroots groups.  On January 13, 2022, the SDP Planning Committee held their regular weekly meeting over Zoom. This week’s meeting of the SDP Planning Committee was facilitated by Lindsay Jackson and Lloyd Pike, a long-time resident of Regent Park. The first item on the agenda was Lindsay’s announcement that she will be leaving the SDP to take on another position with the city. Lindsay Jackson was a community development worker

Janine Hodgson and Sanjura Sharma reports on the SDP Evaluation and Benchmarks Committee The other major item presented at the January 13, 2022, SDP Planning Committee was a presentation by Janine Hodgson and Sanjura Sharma, who are support staff from Young Street Mission involved in the Evaluation and Benchmarks Committee. The role of the Evaluation and Benchmark Committee is to evaluate the progress, success and challenges of the Social Development Plan and its various committees and activities. As part of the presentation, Sanjura reviewed the work done to date by former evaluation coordinator, Pavathra Sulanthar, including the success of the pilot evaluation report that was published in July 2021. Janine reported that they will be meeting with the SDP working groups in February to begin the co-development of self assessments tools that will help evaluate the performances of the SDP working groups. The Evaluation and Benchmark committee will also be exploring how to assess th

RPNA holds a community meeting on safety to discuss a Ding Dong Pitch (Prank) Regent parkers have continuously come together over many challenging issues including housing, redevelopment, immigration, access to adequate medical health and mental resources, and racism, but if there one issue that has repeatedly galvanized the community, it has been the issue of its youth, and its relationship with the Toronto Police Service - the latest incident of which came to a head at a community meeting on safety, organized by the Regent Park Neighbourhood Association on December 20, 2021. At approximately 4:45 pm, on Sunday November 21, 2021, Toronto Metropolitan Police officers from 51 Division, stormed a community youth event been held at 50 Regent Park Blvd. The youth event was organized by TCHC and Tridel, in partnership with Healing As One and other youth groups in the community, as a way of consulting with youth around phase 4 & 5 of the Regent Park Redevelopment. According

Toronto Police Services hold community meeting with Regent Park youth and community members to discuss new initiative to tackle gun and gang violence in the city. On Thursday December 2, 2021, Toronto Metropolitan Police officers from 51 Division and the Toronto Metropolitan Police Youth Engagement Unit hosted a presentation and dialogue session about guns and gang violence with Regent Park youth. The meeting was held at the Regent Park Community Centre located at 403 Shuter Street and was facilitated by Isabelle Cotton, a Police Youth Engagement Officer. Cotton was assisted by her colleagues including 43 Division Superintendent Dave Rydzik; 51 Division Unit Commander Chris Kirkpatrick; 51 Division 2nd in charge Inspector Angadvir Singh; and Regent Park Neighborhood Police Officers Farzad Ghotbi and Mustafa Popalzai. The session was targeted at Regent Park youth and included a small number of adult community members. The main purpose of the session was to introduce Project#Engag

Mustafa The Poet, Regent Parks own performed live at Massey Hall in Toronto Downtown. Not many artists get to play their first hometown concert at the prestigious venue Massey Hall. For Mustafa, the location was even more significant than for most. It’s a walk away from Regent Park, the Toronto neighbourhood that looms over all the songs on Mustafa’s debut album When Smoke Rises.  Mustafa Ahmed, better known by his stage name Mustafa the Poet, is a Canadian poet, singer and songwriter who grew up in Regent Park. On 1st of December of 2021, Mustafa The Poet Performed at the Massey Hall in Downtown Toronto. His album is a tribute to his friends and family and their lives spent in Regent Park. The full house crowd at Massey Hall was full of Mustafa’s friends and family, including the families of Ali Rizeig, an 18-year-old resident of Regent Park who was gunned down in the doorway of his home in 2017 and Jahvante Smart aka Smoke Dawg, a 21-year-old Canadian rapper who was killed outside

Police arrest two in killing of Regent Park mentor Thane Murray. Third man wanted. Two men have been arrested for first-degree murder and a third is wanted by police in the fatal shooting of Thane Murray, a Regent Park mentor gunned down in a hail of bullets Two men have been arrested for first-degree murder and a third is wanted by police in the fatal shooting of Thane Murray, a Regent Park mentor gunned down in a hail of bullets early on a warm September night. Police announced the arrests three months after the high-profile death of Murray, a beloved, 27-year-old community leader and City of Toronto employee who was one of three men shot while walking in Regent Park, allegedly by multiple shooters. The Sept. 18 shooting near Oak and Sumach streets was described as “disturbing” by police in part due to sheer number of bullets fired: investigators found more than 50 shell casings on the scene, and police also reviewed a surveillance video posted on social media that appeared to ca

The following is a report of the December 7, 2021 SDP Stakeholders Meeting: The Regent Park Social Development Plan is a community wide initiative aimed at fostering social inclusion and cohesion. The SDP Stakeholders Table is the main decision-making body responsible for the implementation of Social Development Plan. The Stakeholders Committee meets four times yearly. SDP Membership Intended to be a coalition of stakeholders serving or residing in Regent Park, participation on the Stakeholders Table is open to anyone including: market and TCHC residents; agencies; Grassroots Groups; Faith Groups; and businesses located in or serving Regent Park; TCHC and its development partners; City of Toronto, and other elected representatives serving Regent Park. SDP Voting Privileges While membership is open to all, voting privileges are restricting to residents and stakeholder groups who are actively involved on the various working committees of the SDP. The working committees are commun

The next agenda item on the November 25, 2021, SDP Planning Committee was the Community Benefits Working Group Terms of Reference. Tridel Builders, the development partner with TCHC, has pledged 36.8 million in community benefits for phase 4& 5 of the Regent Park Redevelopment. TCHC has been working with RPNA Community Benefits Coalition to co-develop terms of reference for a community benefits working group that would oversee how the 26.8 million would be spent. According to Ismail Afrah, last week TCHC senior manager, Peter Zimmerman, met with RPNA co-chairs Marlene DeGenova and Ismail Afrah, to inform them that going forward TCHC will no longer continue discussions about the terms of reference for the Community Benefits Working Group and that TCHC would unilaterally deciding the terms of reference. At the planning committee meeting, Ismail stated that he informed Peter that according to the signed community benefits agreement that the development of a terms of referen

4GetAboutIt Youth Collective discuss Mustafa The Poet, an Inspiring Regent Parker & the Astroworld Tragedy. The 4GetAboutIt, Regent Park Youth Collective are really excited about, Regent Park's own, Mustafa the Poet's upcoming concert. The concert will be held on 1st December 2021, at Massey Hall in Toronto. Born to Sudanese parents, Mustafa began mesmerizing audiences with awe-inspiring poetry as a mindful pre-teen. He created raw and hopeful poetry/songs inspired by his upbringing in North America's first public housing building. Despite his age, Mustafa was able to touch on the grave reality of his hometown, located in one of Toronto's Regent Park. In 7th grade, he performed an original piece, "A Single Rose", at Nelson Mandela Park Public school. The piece got a lot of attention and appreciation, earning him high praises at Toronto's Hot Docs Festival in 2009. In 2016, he connected with Toronto producer Frank Dukes with whom he he

The Regent Park Revitalization Team commits to community wide consultations on the rezoning process. The Regent Park revitalization team is in the process of consulting with the community on the Regent Park phases 4 & 5 revitalization. The revitalization team is made up of a development team from Toronto community Housing (TCHC), and Tridel, and a consultation comprised of 9 different consultant groups including Karakusevic Carson Architects (KCA), Bousfields Inc, Monumental , ERA Architects, PFS Studio, BA Group, Transsolar KlimaEngineering, Counterpoint Engineering and RWDI Consulting. On October 26, 2021, an on-line engagement presentation was hosted by the revitalization team for Regent Park community members. The presentation is one of many engagement activities that have been held to date. The October 26 presentation provides an understanding of the rezoning application process, what is involved and the timelines. In past meetings, the rezoning process has been the sub

Former Regent Park resident Ahmed Hussen becomes Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion Former Regent Park resident Ahmed Hussen becomes Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion, after previously serving as Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, where he struck child-care agreements with seven provinces and one territory, and rolled out a $1 billion “rapid housing” strategy to combat homelessness during COVID-19 that converted hotels and motels into housing units. “ Honoured to continue serving Canadians in Cabinet as Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion,” said Minister Hussen on his Facebook page. “With a dedicated Ministry for Housing, we will continue to make it easier for Canadians to find an affordable place to call home & ending chronic homelessness. Let's keep working!” After arriving as a Somali refugee, Hussen lived with his brother in a subsidized apartment in Regent Park, the neighbourhood that gave him a zeal for the ta

Thunder Woman Healing Lodge Society supports vulnerable Indigenous women In the downtown east area, Regent Park, Moss Park, and St. Jams Town constitute some of the most ethnically diverse communities, although, sometimes, the indigenous populations that also call these neighbourhoods home are not as well talked about. However, if we look a little bit closer the truth is that in fact the downtown east side has a considerable indigenous community that are supported by several community agencies that service this population. The most recent addition is the Thunder Woman Healing Lodge Society, located at 413 Dundas St East. The Thunder Woman Healing Lodge Society grew out of need to break the cycle of over-representation of Indigenous women in Canada’s prison system. The mandate of the organization is to provide a place where Frist Nation (Status and Non-Status) Inuit, and Metis 2SLGBTQIA+ women can heal and reclaim their positive cultural identity, and place for rehabilitation and we

Executive Directors of Regent Park hold their monthly meeting. The monthly meeting of the Regent Park Executive Directors Network took place on Monday October 18th over Zoom. The Executive Directors Network is a network comprised of Executive Directors and senior decision makers representing agencies that serve the Regent Park Neighbourhood. The Network has been in existence since 2005. The current chairs are Paulos Gebreyesus, Executive Director from the Regent Park Community Health Centre and Adonis Huggins, Executive Director of the Focus Media Arts Centre. The October 18th, ED Network meeting was chaired by Adonis Huggins as Paulos was not able to attend. The meeting began with Covid 19 and Vaccine Updates. Much of the discussion related to staff participant vaccination policies that individual agencies have adopted to deal with unvaccinated staff. Following this Mercedes Watson, Executive Director from Dixon Hall led a discussion on Data Fusion related to sof

SDP Community Working Group announces the cut to Access to Sports Project and presents a revised plan to SDP Planning Table. The role of the SDP Planning Committee is to set the agenda for decision making items that have to be made at the SDP Stakeholders Table as well as deal with time sensitive issues related to the SDP. On Thursday October 6, 2021, the SDP Planning Committee met to deliberate on final issues related to this evening’s first Deep Dive Session. The Deep Dive is a unique consensus decision making model, designed by the SDP Planning Committee, to determine how $500,000.00 (five hundred thousand dollars) yearly of City funding allocated towards the Regent Park Social Development Plan will be spent. The SDP Planning Committee meeting of October 6, 2021, was hosted by Lindsay Jackson of the Social Development Table and a resident of Regent Park. The following is a report of this meeting. After a land acknowledgement led by Denise Soueidan-O’Leary and app

In this episode #3 of the “4GetAboutIt!” Youth Collective, youth hosts get into “deep conversations” about relationships, love, romance and self-love. Samir, Daiem and Saima are youth residing in Regent Park. They are also members of the 4GetAboutIt! Youth Collective, a collective of young people involved in journalism activities at the Focus Media Arts Centre. When the collective was asked to identify issues pertaining to the interests of neighbourhood youth – among the concerns that came up were: the environment; youth unemployment; housing; and relationships! It should not be surprising that relationships came up. As social beings, the capacity to form and maintain relationships is essential to us and how we function within society. It is a key component to being mentally healthy, and having a positive sense of wellbeing. In reflecting upon this further the 4GetAboutIt! crew decided to make healthy relationships the subject of their next show. Whether it is navigati

31 deaths from gun violence 31 funerals 31 grieving families Louis March, is the founder of the Zero Gun Violence Movement. The Zero Gun Violence Movement is an awareness and advocacy movement that works across the City to engage people and organizations that are genuinely committed to reducing gun violence and building safe and healthy communities, not for some, but for all. The Regent Park Youth Collective invited Louis March, to discuss the recent gun violence incident that occurred in Regent Park. On September 18, 2021, a 29 year old man sustained life-threatening injuries and a 27 year old adult male suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries, while Thane Murray was pronounced dead at the scene. Murray was well known and respected in the Regent Park community. He was a mentor and big brother to many and the community was shock by this horrendous act of violence. A Vigil was held at the spot of the shooting, which was attended by many youth and older community memb