Encampment residents say permanent housing, not brute force, is solution to homelessness

Residents of a downtown Toronto encampment say the real solution to homelessness is for the city to find them permanent housing, instead of using brute force to push them out of municipal parks.

The residents, who live in tents in Moss Parknear Shuter and Jarvisstreets, saidon Wednesday that shelter hotels are not housing. They said living outside is not easy, but encampments are safer than the temporary indoor spacesthat the city has offered.

The residents, who held a news conference but did not give reporters their last names, also saidthey need harm reduction and overdose prevention support. And they said they want the city to remember that they are human beings.

"You have no place for us,"a resident named Sashasaid. She added that the city offered her a place but it had holes, was infested with rodents and was not "suitable" for living.

"I came back here with a tent because I feel more safer than I dothere," she said, adding the city needs to consider the needs of homeless people.

"Most of these peoplehave mental health and addiction issues. You need to work with them. You need to figure out what kind of housing is going to be the best situation for them. It's just like, 'Hey, let's shove them here, they're okay, bye.' No, it's not. We're not okay.You can't just say 'bye' to us."

Wednesday's new conferencewas held more than a week after the city cleared an encampment at Trinity Bellwoods Park.

On Tuesday, June 22, scoresof Toronto police officers, city workers and private security guards descended on the west end park, clashingwith encampment supporters. Officers and guards constructed a fence around people encamped at the park, slowly forcing them out over the course of the day.

Cassie, another Moss Parkresident, said encampments can be difficult places for single women but moving people around is not a solution.

"I have been moved around somuch I'm tired of it. Nobody is removing mefrom here," she said.

"I chose to come here because this is where I feel safest. They're trying to make me move from here. Where do you want meto go? To the bush, where I could be raped, killed, god only knows? There's nobody out there to help," she said.

"No matter what happens, I'll stick to this until the end."

Derrick, known asthe "mayor of Moss Park," said he thinks supporters of encampments should march to the homeof Mayor John Tory and demand housing.

"The governmentdoesn't considerhomeless people as humans," he said.

Former residents of the Trinity Bellwoods encampment, who also spoke at the news conference, said encampments are their own communities where residents can heal from trauma they have suffered. They added thatthe show of force used to clear their encampment last week was brutal and heartbreaking.

Babie, a former resident of the Trinity Bellwoods encampment, said unhoused people need to stick together because of the violencethat the city has used to dismantle encampments. He saidthe city mounted a huge effort to "sweep everybodyunder the rug" and make Torontolook clean.

"All the money that was spent on security guards and police officers, none of that was put towards people that actually need it. All of that was put towardstakingpeople's homes away," he said.

"People just don't have what they need to survive."

Brian, also a former resident atTrinity Bellwoods, said police officers and private security guards are not a solution to homelessness.

"They are no way, shape or form a f--king housing solution," he said. "Every cent that goes to them could be spent on housing."

Brian warned the Moss Park encampment residents that the city will likely use "horrible, horrible" force again to clear their tents.

"It's brutal, it's ugly,it's coming."

Toronto lacks 'permanent housing options,' advocates say

In a statement released on social media, the Encampment Support Network (ESN),said the city's use of police and security on June 22 shows the "violent lengths" that the city will go to make homelessness invisible in Toronto.

According to the volunteer network, whichsupports people living in encampments, 11 people were arrested that day and several others assaulted. ESNsaid the belongings of residents were destroyed.

"There remains insufficient safe, dignified and permanent housing options for all need housing in the City of Toronto," the statement reads.

"Despite City claims that encampments must be cleared because they are 'unsafe,'Tuesday's violence makes clear that City officials do not care if houseless people live or die, as long as they do so out of sight of homeowners, tourists and developers," the statement continues.

"The City's commitment to clearing encampments isn't about safety and care for residents. It is, and has always been, about invisibilizing poverty."

City says it's continuing to help homeless people

On Wednesday, the city said in a news release that it continues to help homeless people through COVID-19 vaccinations, an increased focus on infection prevention and control measures in shelters, a COVID-19 rapid testing program for new shelter residents and referrals to indoor accommodation and access to a housing worker.

The city said it has referred 63 people staying in encampments, including 38 this past week,to safe inside space since June 15.It estimates there are 51 people staying in Lamport Stadium, Moss Park, Alexandra Park and Cherry Beach Park. Encampments at those locationsreceived notices of trespass from the city on June 12.

The city considers encampments to be unsafe and unlawful, saying there have been fires, and theylack access to water and sanitation. Under Toronto'sparks bylaw and street use bylaw, people are not allowed to erect structures on city property.