Catch da Flava Online

A high school student from Regent Park shares his opinions on virtual learning throughout this pandemic. As everyone knows the world has not been the same since the start of the pandemic and many essential areas like schools, shopping malls, and restaurants have shut down. We have had to come up with alternatives for these things and for schools specifically we have online virtual learning as an alternative for going to school. For many this has been fine but plenty of students and teachers believe that it is not doing the job, some students have even felt like they did not learn anything at all and are scared because they believe that they are not prepared for the years to come. As vaccines are getting handed out and cases are going down daily, schools in Ontario are set to resume real life learning in September. This leaves the question how much have students remembered from virtual learning and will students feel prepared for the years to come, especially those who are enter...

  Regent Park's vaccination clinic played its part in contributing to Ontario’s earlier than expected reopening!  As the numbers of administered doses rise and COVID cases begin to drop, Ontario begins phase 3 of the reopening plan days earlier than expected. Ontario's chief medical officer of health Kieran Moore says “Over 200,000 (people a day) are coming forward to get immunized.” Vaccination and pop-up clinics are at the forefront of getting Ontarians vaccinated, and one of the recurring vaccine clinics is located in Regent Park! The Regent Park Community Centre located on 402 Shuter Street, has been doing pop-up clinics in the neighbourhood for the past few weeks. The pop-up entrance is on the north side of the building and is prioritizing residents and essential workers of Regent Park. There is no registration or identification required however, attendees are encouraged to bring their health cards. The pop-up provides the Moderna vaccine for those over the age of 18...

 220 Oak Street Renewal - A make-over is coming for a Regent Park landmark – new exterior and improved interior elements. 220 Oak Street is a Toronto Community Housing (TCH) high rise apartment building located on the edge of Regent Park. It stands at 27 stories and was completed in 1972. The residents are comprised mostly of low income families, single dwellers, seniors, young adults, unemployed people, students, and people with Physical and Mental health issues. The location has been identified as “one of TCH's most trouble addresses” (Betsy Powell, Toronto Star, Jan. 15, 2019). But the image of a troubled spot is about to change. Perhaps as an extension of the Regent Park revitalization project, or perhaps on the grounds of its own particular circumstances, the wheels of change have been set in motion. Toronto Community Housing is teaming up with LGA Architectural Partners to provide a substantial make-over to both the exterior and interior elements of the building. In...

Ramadan is observed by Muslims globally as a month of fasting, prayer, reflection and harmony. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It lasts twenty-nine to thirty days, from one sighting of the crescent moon to the next. This month holds great importance for Muslims, as it is the first time, Allah (God) revealed the Quran (Holy book) to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). The fasting during this month is considered as one of the five pillars Islam. While fasting, it is prohibited from eating and drinking between the dawn and sunset. The month is observed to feel the pain and suffering for those in vulnerable states such as hunger, poverty and need. The month of Ramadan provides an opportunity for Muslims to reflect on the circumstances of people, and they collectively perform social charities; distribute food, clothes and perform other community building activities. However, with the second consecutive year of COVID-19 pandemic, the Muslims have experienced difficulty in obse...

Re-imagining the St. James Town West Park through collaborations between City of Toronto, urban planners, consultation firms, youth, Indigenous leaders and St. James residents and community members. St. James Town is in the early stages of being revitalized. The overall goal is to bring significant improvements to the public and open spaces. One of these public places scheduled for redevelopment is the St. James Town West Park, located on the East side of Sherbourne Street just south of Howard Street. It is a key thoroughfare and gateway to the St. James Town Area. The park which measures 4200 sqm (by comparison Dundas Square is 3800 sqm and a Soccer Field is 4050 sqm), is used by area residents as: a place to relax; to enjoy nature; to sit and eat a meal; to spend time with a friend or to be a lone; to walk a pet; as a children’s playtime area; and to engage in sports and games activities. In densely populated areas where the majority of residents live in high-rise dwellin...

A St. James Town teacher in Toronto, expresses full support for on-line education. For almost two years, Toronto and many parts of Ontario has been dealing with the lockdown. Education wise, students are either homeschooling, involved in virtual schooling or some form of mixture of the two. One thing we do know is that students are not having the same experiences they used to have as part of a regular school day. As we move from the vaccine era and are preparing for a return to physical schooling next year, the question that is raised is how much of virtual schooling will be here to stay? Will cost cutting governments use the covid experiment of the past two years to reduce teachers and increase class sizes by putting more of the curriculum on-line? To answer this question, many are now trying to assess the effectiveness of virtual education. Rox Hayward, a teacher at Rose Avenue Public School in the community of St. James Town, Toronto, discusses the positives and negati...

June 7th Community Vigil in Regent Park to honor the victims of Kamloops Residential School and Afzall family killings. On the evening of June 7th, 2021, the Regent Park community held a candlelight vigil in the big park. It was estimated that over two hundred people attended the event. The vigil, which was organized by Mothers of Peace and hosted by Sureya Ibrahim, was held in memory of 215 children found buried on the Kamloops Residential School and the London, Ontario murder of members of the Afzaal family including Salman Afzall, his wife Madiha Afzaal, Yumna Afzaal - their 15-year daughter and Mr. Afzaal's mother. Their 9-year old son, Fayez Afzaal was also seriously injured. The Afzaal family, was brutally run over by a truck on June 6, 2021, as they walked a pedestrian path in London, Ontario. At the vigil the attack was widely condemned as an act of terrorism, hate and Islamophobia. Several members of the Muslim community that spoke, expressed their concerns for their fa...

Regent Park Neighbourhood Association’s Community Benefits Coalition (CBC) and Toronto Community Housing (TCHC) introduces Tridel as the developer partner for phase 4 and 5 of the Regent Park Redevelopment. A virtual meeting was held on June 9th, 2021, by Toronto Community Housing (TCHC) and the Regent Park Neighbourhood Association’s Community Benefits Coalition (CBC), to introduce Tridel as the development partner for phase 4 and 5 of the Regent Park Redevelopment. The meeting, hosted by Regent Park residents, Walied Khogali and Feclicia Whyte, was well attended by the residents and community members of Regent Park. The meeting begun with an address by MPP Suze Morrison, who expressed the importance of the voice of the community in any development plan. City Counsellor Kristyn Wong-Tam also addressed the attendees. Wong-Tam spoke on the City of Toronto priorities for the redevelopment of phase 4 and 5 - which was to build community assets first and significantly increase the number o...

The Regent Park Social Development Plan (SDP) is a community-wide initiative that seeks to ensure that social inclusion and cohesion is at the heart of the revitalization of Regent Park. To meet this goal, the work of the SDP is structured around four primary committees or working groups each consisting of Toronto Community Housing residents, market residents, grassroots groups and service providers. The Employment & Economic Development Committee (EED) is one of the four working groups of the SDP. The goal of the EED committee is to increase employment rates and entrepreneurial opportunities for residents of Regent Park. Considered among the lowest income neighborhoods 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. According to Murwan Khogali, a resident co-chair of the EED committee, “The task laid ...

In the St. James Town Community, Rose Avenue Public School, has integrated community gardening into their curriculum with the help of Green Thumbs. In the heart of St. James Town, you will find one of the most multicultural schools in North America, Rose Ave Public School. The school has a student population of over 650 for over 15 years they have integrated community gardening into their curriculum with the help of Green Thumbs. Green Thumbs started collaborating with Rose Avenue School in 2007 when Sunday Harrison, Executive Director of Green Thumbs, approached the school and asked if they were interested in having their own school garden. According to Sunday Harrison, “It was amazing that the school was open to the idea and right away they got interested in the program”. They have co-developed the garden spaces with the school ever since. Sunday tells us how amazing the teaching staff at Rose Ave school are. They are very engaged. “Out of our three schools, they (Rose Av...