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For the past 11 years, Toronto has embraced a transformative approach to policing through its Neighbourhood Officer program, inspired by the successful model pioneered in Regent Park. At the heart of this initiative are officers like Kumar Shanmuganathat, who has dedicated the last three years to serving as a neighbourhood officer in St. Jamestown. Through his insights and experiences, viewers gain a deeper understanding of the program's impact and significance. What sets Neighbourhood Officers apart from their counterparts in the police force is their unparalleled dedication to community engagement. Unlike regular police officers, Neighbourhood Officers prioritize spending extensive time interacting with residents. This hands-on approach fosters a profound understanding of the unique challenges and concerns present within the neighbourhood. One of the hallmarks of the Neighbourhood Officer program is its emphasis on post-incident follow-up. Kumar highlights the importance of this

A remarkable tale of compassion and solidarity within our community emerged this holiday season as Project Hope, led by the Toronto Police Service officers and community volunteers, extended a heartwarming welcome to more than 500 newcomer and refugee families arriving to Canada. Their efforts brought not just essentials but also immeasurable joy to those in dire need. Starting with helping refugees from Afghanistan, Project Hope continues to grow as a beacon of the community's open arms towards refugees, embracing newcomers from various corners of the world. Led by the steadfast commitment of Regent Park Constables Farzad Ghotbi and Mustafa Popalzai, both refugees from Afghanistan and Iran, the project has gathered truckloads of essentials since August 2021, now totaling more than $1 million in donations. With the collaboration of 35 police officers, 40 volunteers, and generous contributions from corporate sponsors, Project Hope has woven a tapestry of compassion. Recently, on Dec

Muhammad Muzhural Haque is a local artist who has lived in Regent Park for the past 22 years and is deeply engaged in his community. His fascination with the diverse cultures and positive changes within the neighbourhood has inspired his artistic journey. Born and raised in Bangladesh, he cultivated his passion for art there and continued to pursue it as a career after immigrating to Canada. His creations primarily involve mixed media and digital printing, allowing him to bring his ideas and thoughts to vibrant life.   Once Muhammad and his family came to Canada, his passion for art only grew. As a local artist and resident of Regent Park, he began creating many paintings and artworks for the community. This allowed him to exhibit his work in gallery settings, such as the Rotating Regent Park Art Gallery hosted in the Daniels Presentation Centre in 2018. He also got the opportunity to display his artworks in many of Regent Park's structures, including the Paintbox, the 170 Sumach c

 Regent Park, a vibrant community in downtown Toronto, has a long-standing tradition of celebrating its cultural diversity and artistic talents through the annual "Sunday in the Park" festival. In 2023, this beloved event marked its 32nd year, bringing together residents and visitors to celebrate the neighbourhood's strengths and unity. Hosted by the Neighbourhood Information Post in collaboration with the Community Building Working Group of the Social Development Plan, Sunday in the Park marks its second in-person event since the COVID-19 pandemic. Key partners include the City of Toronto, Toronto Community Housing, Tridel Builders, Focus Media Arts Centre, Regent Park Neighbourhood Association (RPNA), Daniels, Artscape, TNG Community Services, Fred Victor, Young Street Mission (YSM), Scotia Bank and others. The event's co-hosts, Samir Abdella and Walied Khogali, along with Master of Ceremonies(MC) Kishka, ensured the festival's energy and spirit remained high th

City Councillor Chris Moise is no stranger to being in the public view and is someone who has dedicated his life to public service. As councillor for Ward 13, which he has himself described as “complex” - it  encompasses the neighbourhoods of Church Wellesley, St Jamestown, Cabbagetown, Regent Park, Moss Park, and Cork Town. The ward has populations of both high income residents and low income residents, and a proportionately large number who are homeless and living in shelters, and of late, in encampments. Many also face complex health and mental issues, and may also be dealing with substance abuse issues. In an interview with RPTV reporter, they spoke about a wide range of issues in Toronto's East Side. First, they spoke of the next stages of the multi-year revitalization of Regent Park. Many of those in Regent Park are concerned that this next phase may cause displacement of residents, barriers to accessing new facilities, and loss of the many cultural communities that are part

I had moved into Regent Park only a few days before I saw the pink, fuchsia, strawberry, indigo, yellow, green, neck streamers and sparkling robes worn by children, parents, aunts, uncles, and elders as they marched passed my kitchen door. Soon, the nearby Athletic Grounds was blazing with colour. Although it was the first time I heard them, the intonations on the microphone were recognizable, even to me, as prayers. It was Eid, the concluding celebration after Ramadan. It was a beautiful sight. I am a White Jewish senior and I hunted for a stairless condo for years before I chose to live in Regent Park and then only because a relative did business with the new seniors’ building there. “Regent Park?” a friend exclaimed. “You are going to have ethnic problems.”  “Not I.  I come from a long line of fiery leftie activists.” I replied. Stage four and five of revitalizing this post-war subsidized development into a multi-income community was just beginning and I jumped in w

On May 10, 2023, the Regent Park Social Development Plan network will be holding a community meeting reporting on the work and achievements over the past year. For those of you who are unaware, the Regent Park Social Development Plan (SDP) is a community wide initiative aimed at bringing all residents and groups together to stimulate positive social change around four priority areas, each represented by a working group (community safety, community building, employment and economic development and communication). These working groups meet monthly. In addition to the working groups, there are also four standing committees (Evaluation and Benchmark, the Funding Committee, the Community Benefits Oversight Working Group and the Planning Committee). Some of these committees meet monthly, some bi-weekly and some, like the Planning Committee, meet every single week! As if all these meetings were not enough, almost all the workgroups and committees have task groups or sub-committees that meet i

Toronto Police officers from 51 Division held their quarterly community meeting with Regent Park residents on March 27th, 2023 at 150 River Street to discuss neighbourhood policing, youth engagement, crime statistics and trends, police- community projects, crime prevention, avoiding scams and fraudsters, and other community concerns. The community discussion was moderated by Sergeant Henry Dyck—the Neighbourhood Community officer supervisor. City Councillor for Toronto Centre Ward 13—Chris Moise— and TCHC Supervisor of Revitalization and Renewal Communities—Shane Bourne— were also present at the meeting.   Sergeant Henry Duck began the meeting with positive news to share. He reported that from January 1st to March 27th the six neighbourhoods within 51 Division have been doing well in all indicators the police track. This means statistics like assault, sexual assault, shootings, auto theft and homicides have all decreased. Similar Neighbourhood Community officers serving Regent Park rep

The Regent Park soccer house league for kids that has been a free Saturday program at Nelson Mandela soccer field for the past 10 years, announced their disappointment with the City Community Funding Unit for turning down their 2022 Regent Park Social Development Plan Grant Application funding.   T’ai James Simm-Smith, Director of Operations of Regent Park United soccer club, released the following statement on Facebook.  “It’s sad, but the Regent Park United Soccer Club did not get funding needed to sustain our growing program. Some of our coaches feel that the community let them down and will be moving on to helping other communities who also need a soccer program like the one we ran for ten years. It’s a sad day when bureaucrats cannot provide organizations who actually do great work with the proper funding. We will be lucky if we have our U16 rep team and another younger rep team playing, as we want to continue our Friday night practises at Regent Park Athletic Grounds. Very sad st

MPP for Toronto Centre discusses a broad range of urgent issues facing area residents. In a wide-ranging interview Kristyn Wong Tam, Member of Provincial Parliament of Ontario (MPP) for Toronto Centre representing the New Democratic Party, sat down with Focus reporter, Allanis Inguillo, to discuss some of the key concerns that residents in the Downtown East neighbourhoods are facing. Allanis: As the new MPP Toronto Centre we would like to speak with you about some of the key issues that people in this neighbourhood are facing in the early part of 2023, and we were hoping to get your thoughts on some the most pressing issues currently grabbing the spotlight. For example, the long-proposed Moss Park Revitalization was planned to begin, however with Metrolinks moving in with their own plans to develop the new subway station, what is the status of the revitalization? Kristyn: That’s a great question and it’s one that I’m also very curious about and I present a member of the Provincial Parl

On February 2nd 2023, Denise Soueidan-O’Leary, the Director of Projects and Partnerships with the Centre for Social Innovations (CSI) announced the end of the year-long CSI Community Living Room project located on the first floor of the Daniels Spectrum Arts Centre. This represents the end of CSI’s long-time presence in the Daniels Spectrum Arts Centre as previously they managed the third floor, CSI coworking space. The first floor Community Living Room, initiated by CSI with the support of Artscape, was a barrier-free lounge area that was comfortably furnished and allowed community members free access to relax, read, work and play. For example, residents could use the Community Living Room to hang out, to eat, to use the free internet to do homework, to read any of the books provided, to chat with friends, hold birthday parties and meetings, organize events, or for childcare. Just like your living room at home - the space was a community living room for residents and groups to use how

Regent Park resident, Miguel Avila-Velarde, who was arrested following his participation in the removal and destruction of the Sir John A. Macdonald statue from Gore Park in Hamilton, has had his charges dropped. In August of 2021, Miguel Avila-Velarde was one of approximately 200 demonstrators who had gathered in Hamilton’s Gore Park to protest the Hamilton City council’s decision not to remove the statue of Sir  John A. Macdonald. Protestors pulled the statue down using ropes tied to the statues neck. The statue was further vandalized by a grinder, hammer, red paint and finally was beheaded.   John A. Macdonald, was Canada’s inaugural Prime Minister, and considered by many to be a key architect in the creation of the residential school system. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (2007), has since declared that residential schools were a form of “cultural genocide” against First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples. Following the release of his photo and a warrant for his arrest, Mig

Disseminating information residents to underemployed residents of Regent Park The Regent Park Social Development Plan, also known as the SDP, is a community- wide initiative aimed at fostering unity and togetherness among all the different residents and stakeholder groups in the community. The Employment and Economic Development Working Group, known as the EED Working Group, is one the four working groups of the SDP. The working group is made up of residents, grassroots groups and organizations serving Regent Park. The goal of the EED committee is to increase employment rates and entrepreneurial opportunities for residents of Regent Park. Considered among the lowest income neighbourhoods in Toronto, antidotal evidence suggests that many Regent Park households are struggling with employment barriers related to language, lack of skills, lack of accreditation, mental health, Islamophobia, systemic racism and more. On Tuesday, January 17th ,2023, the EED Working Group held a hybrid

The Regent Park Social Development Plan, also known as the SDP, is a community wide initiative aimed at fostering unity and togetherness among all the different residents and stakeholder groups in the community. The Social Development Plan is built around 4 areas of priorities of the SDP. Each priority area is represented by a different committee. The SDP committees are Safety, Communications, Employment and Economic Development and Community Building. In addition to the four committees, there is a SDP Planning Committee, comprised of members  and stakeholders that meets weekly to help guide the activities of the SDP.    The first SDP Planning Committee of the 2023 year took place on January 12, 2023, at 1 pm over Zoom. The meeting was chaired by Greg Gary, an agency chair of the SDP.   The January 12, 2023, planning committee meeting focused almost entirely on concerns related to the SDP funding, namely the City of Toronto’s staff decision to allocate 2023 funding reso

The Regent Park Social Development Plan, also known as the SDP, is a community- wide initiative aimed at fostering unity and togetherness among all the different residents and stakeholder groups in the community. The Employment and Economic Development Working Group, known as the EED Working Group, is one the four working groups of the SDP. The working group is made up of residents, grassroots groups and organizations serving Regent Park. The goal of the EED committee is to increase employment rates and entrepreneurial opportunities for residents of Regent Park. Considered among the lowest income neighbourhoods in Toronto, anedotal evidence suggests that many Regent Park households are struggling with employment barriers related to language, lack of skills, lack of accreditation, mental health, Islamophobia, systemic racism and more. ‘ On Tuesday, January 17th, 2023, the EED Working Group held a hybrid meeting at the Daniels Spectrum Arts Centre, from 5-7 pm. The meetin

The Regent Park Social Development Plan, commonly referred as the SDP, is a community wide initiative aimed at fostering social inclusion and cohesion. The plan revolves around four priority areas: Community Building, Safety, Employment & Economic Development and Communications. The City of Toronto provides funding in the amount of $500,000 yearly to support the priority areas of the SDP. In previous years funding decisions were made by community members of the SDP in partnership with the City. For the 2022 funding year, funding recommendations were made by a small review panel comprised of residents of the Regent Park community. On December 12, 2022, the City of Toronto’s Community Funding Unit announced the recipients of 2022 Regent Park Social Development Plan Grant. According to the announcement, 26 proposals were submitted funding totalling $1.8 million. Out of these project proposals eight projects were approved for the 2022 SDP funding. 2022 SDP Recommendations Toro

Recently, The Swedish Christmas Fair 2022 hosted by SWEA Toronto took place in Regent Park at 585 Dundas St East. The Swedish Christmas Fair attracts thousands of people each year who come to experience Swedish Christmas food, design, folk art, crafts, and traditions. The admission was free. Members of the community enjoyed Swedish food at the Café, the Lucia procession, the Swedish Folk Dancers and Singers, the Book Corner, and the vast selection of Swedish design products and folk art for sale. Lisa Quondamatteo, President of SWEA Toronto, spoke to our own RPTV Reporters Jabin Haque and Victoria Nanneti about this year’s Christmas fair in Regent Park. Jabin Haque — What are expecting to see this year? Lisa Quondamatteo — This year there will be Swedish food that you can buy or bring home, a lot of candies because Swedes love candies, we have Swedish design items, things like candles and kitchen towels, lots of folk art, crafts from leather work, we also have books in Sw

 On November 23rd and 24th, of 2022, the Daniels Spectrum Arts Centre featured the World Premiere of "Songs From The Journey", a performance of the greatest hits from "The Journey" musical.   There have been multiple productions of "The Journey" musical between 2013 and 2018, all celebrating the transformation of Regent Park. Storylines for each production evolved as the revitalization unfolded, highlighting key milestones experienced by residents of the community.   In 2022, in celebration of the tenth anniversary of the Daniels Spectrum, many of the past performers returned to the stage to present "Songs From The Journey". The songs were woven together with a storytelling narrative written by Mitchell Cohen, Trevlyn Kennedy and Heela Omarkhail. Canadian stage icons Jackie Richardson, Alana Bridgewater and Gavin Hope brought the songs to life, along with local stars Trevlyn Kennedy and Charlotte Siegal and music by "The Journ

Toronto Community Housing (TCHC), the lead developer of Regent Park, and Tridel, development partner for phases 4 & 5 of Regent Park, hosted a virtual meeting with the Reset Team/Consultant Team to discuss the key principles of the rezoning proposal. The meeting included new updates to the proposal and details of the plans that are moving forward in the new year (2023). Tridel’s commitment includes a social and economic development program valued at $26.8 million that will benefit the tenants and residents of Regent Park. The community plays a direct role in providing input to the the community on their priorities for the new developments of Regent Park. Phases 4 and 5 of the revitalization of Regent Park are the final phases of Regent's revitalization plan and cover Regent Park's full geographical width from Parliament Street to River Street and along Regent Park's northern street of Gerard. The meeting also included recently newly-elected Ward 13 city co

The Community Building Working Group is one the four working groups of the Regent Social Development Plan (SDP), a community-wide initiative aimed at fostering unity and togetherness among all the different residents and stakeholder groups in the community. In the first meeting of 2023, the Regent Park Community Building Working Group members came together on January 11, 2023, to discuss current and future activities. The meeting was chaired by Joel Klassen, an agency representative from YSM and co-chair of the Community Building Working Group. The business of the meeting began with a report from the Access to Recreation Coordinator, Ismail Afrah. Ismail began his report by reminding members that he is taking over the responsibilities and activities that was coordinated by resident Mary Henkelman , who resigned from the Access to Recreation committee. Access and Recreation has been working with the City Parks and Recreation to set up an advisory to help inform programmin