By Andre Bermon, Publisher –
Residents and business owners in the Church-Wellesley neighbourhood took to the streets on July 22 to protest what they perceive as an increase in violence and vandalism.
The protest was sparked in part by a Facebook post from Steve Dawson, owner of Dudley’s Hardware Paint & Decor, who announced the store’s pending closure due to “targeted” offenses by criminals. (An outpouring of community support since has prompted him to reconsider, CBC News reported.)
Speaking to the bridge, Dawson said the Church Street store’s proximity to Barbara Hall Park, and the presence of homeless people and drug users who occupy it, has created an unsafe environment for himself and the neighbourhood.
The community is not pointing fingers at the homeless, Dawson stated, but at drug dealers who “prey on the vulnerable. A few individuals are creating a lot of problems, and that needs to be dealt with.”
Protesters’ ire was directed at The 519, a community centre turned city agency that hosts programming for Toronto’s homeless population. Like the park, The 519 is also blamed for attracting anti-social behaviour such as open drug use on its property.
Dawson said organization and accountability from The 519, which has historic ties to the LGBTQ+ community, has been lost. Dawson noticed the shift in community dynamics when The 519 began offering more social services to the homeless.
“The 519 themselves say they are not equipped to deal with [the social challenges]. You can’t do something for one third of the day and then walk away and leave the community to deal with the other two thirds of the situation you’ve created,” lamented Dawson.
In an email statement to the bridge, Megan Poole, manager of community relations for The 519, said “Decades of chronic underfunding of social/health services, housing, and other supports, have led to incredibly complex challenges in the [Gay] Village and across Toronto.”
The statement says The 519 will continue to “advocate for the deep investments in mental health, addictions [sic], and affordable housing that are needed to truly improve community well-being.”
According to the Toronto Police Service’s online Safety Data Portal, break-and-enters in the Church-Wellesley neighbourhood have increased 78 per cent this year to date.
However, the number of neighbourhood break-and-enters recorded in 2023 (48), is a third less than the 72 reported incidents during the same time in 2019. Church and Wellesley assaults are down 13 per cent this year.
51 Division Superintendent Christopher Kirkpatrick, who attended the protest, told the bridge that police services are “in place” to deal with the disorder and offences that appear “sporadic.” He said policing alone is not enough; it takes all “services and everyone involved,” including government, to respond to the community’s needs.
In an open letter to Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Steve Clark, Ward 13 MPP Kristyn Wong-Tam called for provincial measures to increase supportive housing and wrap-around services for vulnerable people, and bail reform to keep recidivists off the streets.
Ward 13 Councillor Chris Moise, chair of the city’s Board of Health, echoed these sentiments to the bridge. “I know people are frustrated and they need an outlet … but the key to dealing with these social problems is housing and wraparound services.”
To fully deliver on the city’s HousingTO 2020-2030 Action Plan of approving 40,000 affordable rental homes (including 18,000 supportive homes), additional ongoing capital and operating investments from other orders of government are required, a City of Toronto spokesperson confirmed.
