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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 outs...

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...

In this episode of St. James Town TV, we feature the Weathering the Storm Research Report. The report was prepared for The Corner and the St. James Town Service Providers Network by Lisa Kovalchuk, a professor of sociology at the University of Guelph. Lisa Kovalchuk’s team of researchers included community residents Priyal Goenka, Tanvir Kaukab, and Lovlyn Dsouza. The aim of the study was to determine how the Covid-19 pandemic played out in the highly diverse and densely populated community of St. James Town. The study focused on three demographics, youth, newcomers and other immigrants, and seniors. According to Lisa and her team, in the area of children and youth the study found that parents with infants and pre-teen children reported lockdown impacts that affected child development such as the lack of social interactions and gaining of learning experiences because of the disruption of day-care and the closure of recreational family outing options. Parents of special needs c...

In this Episode of the 4GetAboutIt TV, the Youth Collective discuss some of the Slang words used in Toronto, especially in the Regent Park neighbourhood. Toronto, or the 6ix is one of the most diverse cities in the world. The whole world lives in the 6ix. In Toronto, one can find folks from every ethnicity, race, region etc. This makes the 6ix a multicultural and multilingual society. This mix of different cultures brings a distinct swagger to Toronto. Toronto Pop icons, Drake and Lily Singh have been using 'the 6ix' (slang for Toronto) in mainstream media sparking a conversation on Toronto slang. But in a city that brands itself as multicultural and diverse, where does that Toronto slang actually come from? This language we’ve normalized and enjoy comes from Jamaica, Trinidad, Guyana, Somalia and other specific communities within the Greater Toronto Area. Regent Park is one community in the east end of downtown Toronto. A huge number of immigrants live in this community, t...

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...

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...