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ENCAMPMENTS AND THE HOMELESS COMMUNITY

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The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked unprecedented upheaval across the globe. Millions have tested positive, and hundreds of thousands have died. In more than the 200 countries in the world that coronavirus has taken hold, health systems have been devastated, unemployment is rampant, and populations have been in self-isolating lockdowns for months on end. And while our scientists desperately search for vaccines and improvements to testing, there is another dimension to the pandemic that is emerging; it is the staggering realization that disproportionately the most vulnerable are the hardest hit – the poor, the elderly, the marginalised, and those in low income but vital jobs. In Downtown Toronto East including the areas of Regent Park, Sherbourne-Dundas, Moss Park, Cabbagetown, St. Jamestown and the Church and Wellesley neighbourhood where many of the most vulnerable members of our society live, there is a crisis brewing. Homeless encampments are springing up everywhere leading to conflic

FINDING A JOB During the Coronavirus Pandemic

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In the wake of the pandemic, employment consultant Wayne Greenway, offers some helpful tips on finding a new job in the current environment. As anyone who has ever been unemployed and looking for a job will agree, the task of finding that job is gut wrenchingly difficult. Writing cover letters, tailoring resumes, and attending interviews (if you can get them), is like have a full-time job all on its own – in fact some people can be unable to find work for months if not years. Add to this mix of uncertainty and anxiety the coronavirus pandemic, and you have uncertainty and anxiety amplified by factors that are simply unquantifiable. With more than two million Canadians out of work, finding a new job may not be that easy. Perhaps because of the nature of the pandemic, a total societal disruption, the Government of Canada has not come forward with any new employment programs, instead the Government has focused its efforts at helping people through the crisis with relief programs such as t

Staying Healthy in the face of COVID-19 and other Personal Challenges

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Louisa Jewell offers her opinion on how people can better cope with the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic. If there is anything that the COVID-19 pandemic has shown us is that disproportionately the virus has affected the most vulnerable. This may be because of age and the compromised heath issues that come with age, or it may be because of socio- economic factors (low income, inadequate access to health care, racialized, marginalized, precariously housed).  Additionally, there is the issue of one’s mental health. Sadly, the most vulnerable in our societies straddle some or all of the above factors, however it maybe that mental health is the least well understood. Mental health can be understood to relate to the emotional wellbeing of a person.  To have what is considered a mentally healthy full life, one is able to functionally cope while experiencing a range of emotions including pleasure and pain. Mental illness on the other hand is considered to be a psychiatric disorder, impa

TCHC Announces the shortlisted developers for the final stages of the Regent Park redevelopment

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Regent Park is currently going through a major revitalization, transitioning from being Canada’s largest solely social housing community to being a mixed-income and mixed-use community. The development is managed by the Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC). The Regent Park TCHC Community Up-Date Meeting, held on Feb 18, 2020 at the Regent Park Community Centre, brought together representatives from Toronto Community Housing (TCH), residents, and other community members to learn what is the status of the newest buildings, discuss the community benefits plan and hear who TCHC short-listed for the final stages of the Regent Park development. As the final phases of the Regent Park redevelopment are set to unfold, the residents of Regent Park are struggling with the revelation by the TCHC back in 2018 that the Daniels Corporation (the sole builder since 2009) is not slated to complete that last stages. Apparently, the TCHC has known since 2014 that they do not have a contract with D

Housing is a Human Right

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Regent Park, built in the 1940 to provide affordable housing, is undergoing a massive revitalization and will be transformed into a mixed income community. Despite the doubling of the resident population, no additional public housing units will be built. Yet there are over 100,000 on the waiting list for affordable housing in Toronto. According to Homelessness Hub, approximately 35,000 Canadians experience homelessness nightly. Additionally, a significant number of Canadians, especially Indigenous people, live in substandard homes that are overcrowded and/or dilapidated. Even Canadians that are lucky enough to have housing struggle to afford their homes and are at risk of becoming homeless if they lose their jobs. This situation is exacerbated by an expensive housing and rental market and insufficient access to affordable housing. Although Canada has signed on to many international treaties that signify access to adequate housing as a human right, this is still a major issue in our cou

COVID-19 and the Toronto to Homeless Population

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With everyone forced to stay inside, what is the fate of the homeless, and those living in shelters or on the street? Regent Park located just east of Toronto's downtown core is undergoing a major revitalization, it is being transformed from a neighbourhood made up solely of public housing, most of which were buildings over 50 years old, to a multi-use, mixed income community. Despite these changes, the areas surrounding Regent Park, which included Moss Park, Cabbage Town, St Jamestown, and the Church and Wellesley neighbourhood, have had large populations of low income, homeless and street people. To meet the needs of these populations, the area also has the highest concentration of social service agencies, shelters and drop-ins. It is estimated that there are over 9,200 people in Toronto who maybe homeless at any one time. Shelters and drop-ins provide essential services to these populations, food, clothing, medical and mental health supports, and places where people can socializ

Community Benefits and the Regent Park Coalition

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Over the past 15 years Toronto’s Regent Park neighbourhood has been going through the process of revitalization. Regent Park, once a neighbourhood made up solely of public housing, most of which were buildings over 50 years old, is being transformed into a multi-use, mixed income community. Although on the surface this is a needed change, there is much concern that the Regent Park revitalization will echo the processes of gentrification that many Toronto neighbourhoods have gone through over the last few decades. Gentrification is the process of updating and beautifying a community which on the surface sounds positive, however it unfortunately leads to increases to the cost of living and high housing costs. This in turn leads to an influx of wealthy neighbours while many of the original residents end up being displaced because they are no longer able to afford the cost of living in their community.  A strong argument can be made that the Regent Park revitalization has thus far avoided

Keeping Safe During the Coronavirus Pandemic

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8 July 2020 Focus Media Arts Centre Chloё Nguyen-Drury The COVID-19 virus, also known as Coronavirus, has changed every aspect of our lives. What originated as a small cluster of cases in Wuhan, China, has quickly spread worldwide. On 11 March 2020, the WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic (World Health Organization 2020). In this hyper-connected world, global travel has played a significant role in the spread of the virus. Infected persons visiting or returning to Canada have brought the disease to our backyard, leading to community spread (transmission from one community member to another). Additionally, Canadians who were travelling abroad have had difficulty returning home, as cancelled flights and travel restrictions limit residents from returning to their country. As of 8 July 2020, Canada has reported 106,434 cases, including 70,247 recovered and 8,737 fatalities. Ontario has reported 36,178 confirmed cases of COVID, the second-highest number in the country after Québec (Public H

THE FIGHT FOR CCTV SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS AT 220 OAK STREET

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RPTV News interviews Miguel Avilla-Vellarde a Regent Park resident, and community activist, who has been involved in ensuring community safety through improvement of CCTV surveillance cameras at 220 Oak Street a Toronto Community Housing (TCH) apartment building located in Regent Park, in the area of River and Oak Streets. Motivated by the history of violence at 220 Oak, a total of six incidents of violence leading to death since 2011, Miguel along with other residents have campaigned the City of Toronto and TCH to install security cameras. The TCH has rejected these efforts on the grounds that the cameras violate certain aspects of privacy legislation. This argument however has met with resistance from residents who cite that neighbouring TCH buildings do have security cameras. And while the immediate safety of residents at 220 Oak Street is a concern for all vested parties, the path to resolving the matter has been mired in the bureaucracies of both the TCH and the City of T

The Regent Park Laneway Naming Proposal

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In Toronto there are around 3,000 laneways running throughout the city. Despite this only about 10% of these lanes are named. There are many reasons why naming of lanes can have many positive impacts on the surrounding neighbourhoods. As the Laneway Project highlighted, providing a name for a laneway can help emergency services reach the scene of emergency, preserve the history of an area, create a sense of place and identity, and bring the community together through the naming process. On June 20th 2019, Ismathara Ratna was struck by an impaired driver in the Regent Park community. The mother of three, was beloved by friends and family members in the community and many residents were devastated to hear the news of her passing. It was shortly after 1pm on a Thursday when Ratna, on her way to visit a friend after dropping her kids off at school, was struck by the impaired driver who lost control of his vehicle and mounted the sidewalk where Ratna was standing. This tragic death has left