From Allan Gardens to Union Station: Lynn Walker Fights to Keep Toronto's Unhoused From Being Erased

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 For Lynn Walker, Toronto's housing crisis is a daily reality shaped by survival, grief and an unwavering commitment to people living without housing.

As a grandmother, survivor of the Allan Gardens encampment and founding member of the Toronto Underhoused and Homeless Union (TUHU), she has spent years fighting for people experiencing homelessness while mourning friends and community members who never made it off the streets.
Regent Park TV first captured Walker on camera in 2023 during a housing justice rally in Toronto's Downtown East, where she reflected on spending more than two years living in a tent at Allan Gardens after losing her housing.

"They spent four years trying to evict me," Walker said. "I ended up in Allan Gardens."

Living in the encampment exposed her to both hardship and solidarity.

"I've watched so many people die in the parks," she said. "They're human beings like everybody else. If they don't have a blood family, they have us as family."

Walker says Toronto's preparations for global events, including the FIFA World Cup, stand in sharp contrast to the worsening homelessness crisis.

"Why are you wasting money when people's lives are out there?" she said. "They're losing their lives because of what's going on in our city."

The crisis recently struck Walker's own family with the death of her nephew. Despite her loss, she continues travelling daily from Scarborough to downtown on her mobility scooter, delivering water and supplies to unhoused residents.

Although she now has housing, Walker says her current apartment leaves her longing for the community she found in the encampment.

"I was so happy compared to where I live now," she said. "Oh my God, I miss my tent."
Walker has also spoken out against the reported displacement of unhoused people around Union Station and joined recent demonstrations calling for social housing at the long-vacant properties at 214–230 Sherbourne St.

"Everybody has the right to a home," she said. "A roof over your head—everyone has that right."
As Toronto prepared to welcome the world, Walker says the city's priorities should focus on housing people rather than pushing homelessness out of sight.



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