Catch da Flava On-Line

Transformational long-term care facility for some of Toronto’s most vulnerable populations being built in the Moss Park area. With the revitalization of Regent Park considered a success, the area west of Sherbourne Street, considered part of the Moss Park community, is witnessing a symphony of construction activity. George Street, once the privy of rooming houses, low-income housing and Toronto’s largest homeless shelter, is now getting a City of Toronto initiated makeover. It now appears that governments are embracing the notion that the continued wellbeing of our communities requires a certain level of fiscal investment, and that the social safety net needs to be expanded, not diminished. In addition to the redevelopment of Seaton House, the city oldest and largest men’s shelter, (see part one of the George Street Revitalization), the George Street Revitalization will feature a long -term care facility and senior support services. The goal of these new services in the commun

220 Oak Street gets an up-grade to its exterior and interior facilities. 220 Oak Street is a high-rise apartment building located on the eastern edge of Regent Park and is therefore not part of the greater Regent Park Revitalization. Built in 1972, it has twenty-seven floors, and is owned and operated by Toronto Community Housing. Residents of the building comprise a broad range of low-income residents from a diversity of social and ethnical backgrounds that include families, newcomers, seniors, and people with mental and physical disabilities. Paradoxically, social housing has always presented opposing interpretations, on the one hand there are the misconceptions and stigma associated with being on social assistance (most often perpetrated in the media), while on the other hand there are the personal stories of resilience in the face of complex social and physical challenges. When asked about life at 220 Oak Street, most residents would highlight the sense of belonging to a commu

What does one do when you are often awaken in the middle of the night by the carryings on of an illicit drug trade and sex trafficking in the street below or regularly find drug paraphernalia and used condoms outside your home? What do you do when you are told that police can’t do anything about minor assaults, vandalism and break-ins in the area due to the lack of community officers or an unwillingness to arrest or prosecute offenders due to covid-19? Well, if you are David Saad, you join your local Neighbourhood Watch Association and get together with your neighbours to hire a private security company to patrol your homes. David Saad, is a father of two residing in a house located in the Seaton and Dundas Street area, and he is leading a fight to make his neighbourhood safer. David and his neighbours have started a GoFundMe campaign, to raise the funds needed to hire security guards to nightly patrol five streets (Seaton, Ontario, Milan, Berkeley and Poulette) from Dund

In the first of these series, Jamelia explores various hubs available to young people in Regent Park. On September 2012, the Daniel’s Spectrum opened up its doors to the public. Located in the heart of Regent Park, on 585 Dundas Street East, the building was designed specifically as an arts hub, and it shows. The outside building décor is illuminated with vibrant colours and a digital display, symbolizing that there is something bold going on inside. To get more insight into this boldness, I had a conversation with Jermyn Creed, the Community Manager of the Daniels Spectrum, about the role it plays in the community and the broader city. According to Jermyn, Daniels Spectrum is an important part of the Regent Park community because it gives low-income residents of Regent Park access to a wide variety of arts programming that normally would be out of their reach. The building not only gives youth a place to hang out after school but also offers opportunities for children and youth to ge

Throughout history, the youth have always been at the forefront of activism, boldly demanding change. Today’s youth, Generation Z, is just as passionate in taking a stand as those who stood before. In today’s time, we have passionate, articulate activists such as Greta Thunberg, Emma Gonzalez, and Amariyanna Copeny. Due to the capabilities of social media, the youth also can create a tightly knit online community. This is especially beneficial when it comes to activism, as plans for action, and calls for support are easily shared to many people. However, outside of the social media bubble, the outlook of youth is often criticized and mocked by adults. The main contradictions fall under youthful naivety, or the lack of education. Through speaking out for climate change, Greta Thunberg has been wrongfully ridiculed by President Trump, amongst many others twice or triple her age. This response from so-called leaders breeds frustration, especially as this generation is the one that will be

Born in St. Jamestown, the newly elected Liberal MP, reflects on her core beliefs and lived experiences. In this episode of Regent Park TV, reporter Dimitrije Martinovic, introduces Regent Park and Toronto Centre to their new Member of Parliament. On September 17, 2020, Marci Ien was announced as the Liberal candidate for the by-election to the 43rd Canadian Parliament for Toronto Centre, following the resignation of Bill Morneau. Marci won the by-election on October 26, 2020, defeating Green Party of Canada leader Annamie Paul and NDP candidate Brian Chang. Marci Ien is a Black Canadian of Trinidadian descent. Ien graduated with a degree in radio and television arts from Ryerson University in 1991. She began her journalism career at CHCH-TV in Hamilton, Ontario in 1991 as a news writer and general assignment reporter. In 1995 she began reporting from Queen's Park in Toronto, with her reports appearing both on CHCH's local news and on WIC's national newscast Canada Tonight

The following is a summary of the November 24, 2020, Regent Park Town Hall on Confronting Anti-Black Racism on Daniels Construction Site as reported by Adonis Huggins, staff member of the FOCUS Media Arts Centre. The entire Town Hall Meeting can be viewed on the Regent Park TV YouTube Channel or click this link: https://youtu.be/gBEPb0aPMAA In the week following a hate crime incident at DuEast Condominiums’ Construction Site on June 26th 2020, the Regent Park Neighbourhood Association (RPNA) reached out to The Daniels Corporation (Daniels) requesting information on Daniels' response to the incident. In response to this request, Daniels prepared a comprehensive Report outlining the steps it is taking not only to address the hate crime incident but also confront systemic racism in the construction industry more broadly. The report was released in a Town Hall co-hosted by RPNA and Daniels on November 24, 2020. Daniels and RPNA were joined by Carpenters Union Local 27, LIUNA Loca

The Monster Mash, a cultural mash-up, a cultural breakdown, a cultural icon of inclusivity. Regent Park in Toronto’s downtown east side is known for many things; however, it is the lingering and often misleading stereotype of being “one of the poorest neighbourhoods,” that shapes most people’s perspective of this area. Despite this misperceived backdrop of despair, the area has always maintained an unshakeable sense of community with generations of families calling the area home. Demographically the area has changed substantially, from a predominantly working class and low-income Irish composition during the early 1900s, to a multi-cultural and multi-ethnic make-up brought on by changes in Canadian Immigration policies from the 1960s and 1970s. Today the make-up in Regent Park (based on ethnicity) consists of the following: Aboriginal 1.52%, Black13.64%, Recent Immigrant 6.06%, White 13.64%, South Asian 19.70%, African 45.45%, Southeast Asian 12.12%, Hispanic 3.03%, West Indian 1

Regent Park is a community of communities. Demographically the area has changed substantially, from a predominantly working class and low-income Irish composition during the early 1900s, to a multi-cultural and multi-ethnic make-up brought on by changes in Canadian Immigration policies from the 1960s and 1970s. The shifts in the cultural landscape suggests that long-standing Euro-centric traditions, like Halloween would steadily be in decline, especially in a multi-ethnic community such as Regent Park. Halloween, however, remains one of the most celebrated days of the year and thanks to the Friends of Regent Park, will continue to be a fun filled custom in the Regent Park community in spite of Covid-19. Halloween is observed annually on the night of 31 of October. The celebration, marking the division between the light and dark halves of the year, when the boundary between the living and dead was believed to be at its thinnest, is believed to have originated primarily as a Celtic t

CSI is pivoting from a co-sharing facility to a community support and development model. On Monday October 26, 2020, after eight years of occupancy, the Centre for Social Innovation (CSI) announced that they are ceasing operations of CSI – Regent Park. Established in 2012, on the third floor of the Daniels Spectrum building in Regent Park, the CSI co-sharing workspace, is sadly closing its doors. Although CSI has not publicly indicated the actual reasons behind the closure, it is speculated that the cost recovery model for operating the Regent Park facility was not working, and the operating expenses was significantly exceeding the revenues. The closure of the facility due to COVID-19, combined to make a bad situation, only worse. Since its inception in 2004, the Centre for Social Innovation’s vision of facilitating co-sharing spaces that put “people and planet first” has grown to include over 3000 members generating a combined annual revenue of $270 M. The idea of “co-sharing” or