Catch da Flava On-Line

Community ambassadors promote Covid-19 Vaccine Awareness With the emergence of the new COVID-19 variant Omicron residents of Regent Park along with community organizations have mobilised to confront the specter of this new challenge. Rallying around getting the word out about where to go and what to do has always been the mainstay of Regent Parkers sense of community – no matter the issue – Regent Park people tend to look out for one another. In this short video, Lamisa Ahmed, a youth ambassador with the Vaccine Engagement Regent Park, and Murshida Samsun Mueen, community ambassador with Regent Park Community Health Centre, join Walied Kjolagli Ali, a community vaccine educator to unpack the plethora of new and old phenomena that now crowd the corona virus landscape. With so much information competing with one’s attention, no one can be faulted for losing sight of even the most fundamental concerns, and so it is no surprise that Walied asked Lamisa to once more remind people

Regent Park Youth Video-Podcast, Climate Conversations, speaks to Assistant Professor Rochman of the U of T Trash Team Our new youth video-podcast, Climate Conversations (CC), led by Jabin Hauqe, Victoria Nanneti and Harris Ali, focuses on learning about and discussing climate change, environmental consciousness and issues. In this very first episode of CC, the Regent Park youth hosts spoke to Chelsea Rochman, Assistant Professor and researcher at the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department at U of T, as well as the Co-founder and Program Lead for the U of T Trash Team. Rochman spoke to Jabin, Victoria and Harris about the Trash Team initiative, waste management/research and waste literacy. Getting us thinking about small changes that urban communities like Regent Park can implement in our daily lives, to have an impact on reducing plastic pollution. The U of T Trash Team is a 5 year old organization of students, early career researchers, U of T staff and volunteers whose goal is t

TCHC launches the 2022 scholarship program for TCHC youth residents ​​​​​​​​​​​​The Investing in Our Diversity Scholarship Program recognizes the commitment of young people involved in anti-racism, diversity initiatives, and in building safe and healthy communities such as Regent Park and the surrounding areas. Between the cost of tuition, books, food, and transportation, it can be tough for many students to find the money to cover the cost of postsecondary school. Regent Park youth can apply today for the Investing in Our Diversity Scholarship. A scholarship recipient can receive:  Up to a $4,000 scholarship award towards tuition fees for the first year of postsecondary education or training (college, university, trade school, or apprenticeship).  Opportunity for second-year scholarships of up to $4,000 to be applied directly to tuition fees, if you attend one of the following institutions: Ryerson University, University of Toronto, York University, Humber College, George

Miguel is a long-time resident of Regent Park area. He is also a member of the Regent Park Neighborhood Association, the Coalition for Community Benefits, and the Tenant Representative for 220 Oak St, a Toronto Community Housing building. Miguel is also an Indigenous man originally from Peru. Miguel’s activism is born from his personal lived experience as an indigenous person, and as someone who is living with physical and mental issues. In his own words, Miguel has said, “my life long project.. is to leave a better society, a better place for everyone, and a living legacy.” In May of 2021, with the discovery of residential school burial grounds of indigenous children, Canadian society was rudely awakened to a history that had remained hidden, forgotten and set aside… a history of oppression, and some say genocide. “The remains of 215 children, some as young as 3 years old, have been found buried on the site of what was once Canada's largest Indigenous residential school —

Award winning and popular Regent Park hospitality hub PaintBox Catering & Bistro closed indefinitely according to a letter written by its founder and owner Chris Klugman and published in the restaurant’s website and social media, citing being defeated by the pandemic. “PaintBox is closed” says a written statement to customers and partners.   “I am writing this letter with a heavy heart to inform you Paintbox is closing effective immediately – and to apologize for any inconvenience or challenges this may cause anyone. This was not an easy decision to make. However, like many companies and organizations, this 22-month long pandemic with no end in sight has simply been too much to manage. With a new surge and other variants on the horizon, with a renewed government lockdown and cancelled catering, Paintbox is out of financial resources and no longer tenable.” Klugman said in the letter. Chris Klugman expressed his deepest thanks to Daniels Corporation President and CEO, Mitchell

Lindsay Jackson, a community development officer with the city is leaving her position in Regent Park. The SDP also known as the Regent Park Social Development Plan, is a community wide initiative consisting of various city funded projects and activities aimed at building social cohesion and inclusion. The role of the SDP Planning Committee is to set the agenda for the SDP Stakeholder Table, which is the main decision-making body for the Social Development Plan. The SDP membership is made up of TCHC residents, Market residents, Agency representatives and Grassroots groups.  On January 13, 2022, the SDP Planning Committee held their regular weekly meeting over Zoom. This week’s meeting of the SDP Planning Committee was facilitated by Lindsay Jackson and Lloyd Pike, a long-time resident of Regent Park. The first item on the agenda was Lindsay’s announcement that she will be leaving the SDP to take on another position with the city. Lindsay Jackson was a community development worker

Janine Hodgson and Sanjura Sharma reports on the SDP Evaluation and Benchmarks Committee The other major item presented at the January 13, 2022, SDP Planning Committee was a presentation by Janine Hodgson and Sanjura Sharma, who are support staff from Young Street Mission involved in the Evaluation and Benchmarks Committee. The role of the Evaluation and Benchmark Committee is to evaluate the progress, success and challenges of the Social Development Plan and its various committees and activities. As part of the presentation, Sanjura reviewed the work done to date by former evaluation coordinator, Pavathra Sulanthar, including the success of the pilot evaluation report that was published in July 2021. Janine reported that they will be meeting with the SDP working groups in February to begin the co-development of self assessments tools that will help evaluate the performances of the SDP working groups. The Evaluation and Benchmark committee will also be exploring how to assess th

RPNA holds a community meeting on safety to discuss a Ding Dong Pitch (Prank) Regent parkers have continuously come together over many challenging issues including housing, redevelopment, immigration, access to adequate medical health and mental resources, and racism, but if there one issue that has repeatedly galvanized the community, it has been the issue of its youth, and its relationship with the Toronto Police Service - the latest incident of which came to a head at a community meeting on safety, organized by the Regent Park Neighbourhood Association on December 20, 2021. At approximately 4:45 pm, on Sunday November 21, 2021, Toronto Metropolitan Police officers from 51 Division, stormed a community youth event been held at 50 Regent Park Blvd. The youth event was organized by TCHC and Tridel, in partnership with Healing As One and other youth groups in the community, as a way of consulting with youth around phase 4 & 5 of the Regent Park Redevelopment. According

Toronto Police Services hold community meeting with Regent Park youth and community members to discuss new initiative to tackle gun and gang violence in the city. On Thursday December 2, 2021, Toronto Metropolitan Police officers from 51 Division and the Toronto Metropolitan Police Youth Engagement Unit hosted a presentation and dialogue session about guns and gang violence with Regent Park youth. The meeting was held at the Regent Park Community Centre located at 403 Shuter Street and was facilitated by Isabelle Cotton, a Police Youth Engagement Officer. Cotton was assisted by her colleagues including 43 Division Superintendent Dave Rydzik; 51 Division Unit Commander Chris Kirkpatrick; 51 Division 2nd in charge Inspector Angadvir Singh; and Regent Park Neighborhood Police Officers Farzad Ghotbi and Mustafa Popalzai. The session was targeted at Regent Park youth and included a small number of adult community members. The main purpose of the session was to introduce Project#Engag

Mustafa The Poet, Regent Parks own performed live at Massey Hall in Toronto Downtown. Not many artists get to play their first hometown concert at the prestigious venue Massey Hall. For Mustafa, the location was even more significant than for most. It’s a walk away from Regent Park, the Toronto neighbourhood that looms over all the songs on Mustafa’s debut album When Smoke Rises.  Mustafa Ahmed, better known by his stage name Mustafa the Poet, is a Canadian poet, singer and songwriter who grew up in Regent Park. On 1st of December of 2021, Mustafa The Poet Performed at the Massey Hall in Downtown Toronto. His album is a tribute to his friends and family and their lives spent in Regent Park. The full house crowd at Massey Hall was full of Mustafa’s friends and family, including the families of Ali Rizeig, an 18-year-old resident of Regent Park who was gunned down in the doorway of his home in 2017 and Jahvante Smart aka Smoke Dawg, a 21-year-old Canadian rapper who was killed outside