In a west-end º£½ÇÉçÇø¹ÙÍøpark, a slow-moving standoff has been underway for two days as city hall tries to clear a homeless encampment — without the show of brute force that drew heavy scrutiny in past years.Ìý
As recently as March, the encampment at Dufferin Grove Park wasÌýthe city’s largest known concentration of tents and other makeshift structures.
In February, the parkÌýbetween Dufferin and Bloor streets was designated as a priority site, meaning it would be the focus of a new city strategy. The strategy,Ìýadopted last year,Ìýaims to concentrate resources like shelter or housing offers to specific encampments, while deploying private security officers to prevent new tents from being set up.
City staff say this approach hasÌýresulted in 56 people moving indoors from Dufferin Grove since February, with a spokesperson saying nine went to housing. But on Friday, city hall amped up the pressure, servingÌýtrespass notices thatÌýwarned those remaining in the parkÌýto leave by Tuesday morning.Ìý
Residents of a homeless encampment at Dufferin Grove Park in the Bloor and Dufferin streets area were given notices that they were to be cleared out on Tuesday. On Tuesday morning, occupants and supporters had a morning of speeches, support and camaraderie in the park.Ìý
Richard Lautens/º£½ÇÉçÇø¹ÙÍøStarOver Tuesday and Wednesday, dozens of city staff, surrounded by private security officers,Ìýtried to convince occupants to accept beds in the city’s shelter system. Roughly eight º£½ÇÉçÇø¹ÙÍøpolice officers were also on standby at one end of the park on Tuesday. As a small crowd gathered as early as 8 a.m. Tuesday to protest the operation, with pushback continuing into Wednesday, remaining occupants at Dufferin GroveÌýsay the heightened pressure to leave hasn’t come with what they need: permanent housing.
As of Wednesday afternoon, at least nine tents and makeshift structures were still standing in the park, with yellow caution tape strung around some tents the city said were now unoccupied. City hall says five people accepted shelter so far, and indicated their focus on the site would continue into Thursday.
City spokesperson Eric Holmes said the hope of the operation was a more “peaceful” resolution thanÌýthe higher-profile clearings of 2021. That year, severalÌýpolice-led clearingsÌýin places like Lamport Stadium turned into physical clashes between officers and protesters, and were laterÌýcriticized by Toronto’s ombudsmanÌýas prioritizing speed over homeless people’s well-being.
On Wednesday, crews cleared items from one of the tents as the resident (not pictured) sorted through what they wanted in the shelter or in storage.
Steve Russell/º£½ÇÉçÇø¹ÙÍøStarThe approach at Dufferin Grove followed the newer strategy previously used atÌýlocations such as Allan GardensÌýandÌýClarence Square, Holmes said.Ìý
In a statement, city hall said trespass notices and enforcement could be triggered by such causes as safety risks to outreach efforts that were seen to have been unsuccessful; no one particular reason was singled out for Dufferin Grove.
Meanwhile, several remaining encampment occupants said they intended to stay put until everyone left was offered housing.
Cece Bella Cohen, who has stayed at Dufferin GroveÌýsince a different encampment clearing downtownÌýabout three months ago, said city shelters felt “worse than third-world conditions” and came with physical safety risks.
Cece Bella Cohen, who has been staying at Dufferin Grove encampment, was among those who spoke to the crowd at Dufferin Grove Park.
Richard Lautens/º£½ÇÉçÇø¹ÙÍøStarAnother camp occupant, Sem Sad, said they’d been staying at Dufferin Grove since last fall, having fallen into homelessness afterÌýbouncing between temporary housing set-ups. While Sad said they were offered a unit in supportive housing, they’d declined, noting that having constant staff on-site and rules like curfews felt like living under “surveillance.” Sad’s hope was to get access to a regular public housing apartment instead.
The presence of tents in Dufferin Grove has been a point of friction with some residents of the neighbourhood, as evidenced early in the day on Tuesday. “Why the crowd?” asked a woman biking along the park’s central path. When told of the potential enforcement push, she replied: “Good.”
From February to the end of April, City Hall says it spent $418,300 at Dufferin Grove, listing costs for street outreach, debris removal, community safety teams, security officers and nearly $9,000 on a pair of portable toilets.
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One park occupant, Mark Lindsay, argued Wednesday that money could be better spent on the homes people like him need. Instead of putting the money into housing, he said, “it is paying umpteen amount of security guards on 24-hour shifts, maybe 30 to 50 government (staffers), and we’re still here.”Ìý
Meredith Laver, a community worker assisting camp occupants over the last couple of days, on Tuesday, alerted staff to one person who wanted help getting a shelter spot.ÌýData shows that an average of about 96 people wereÌýturned away from the shelter system per dayÌýas of July.Ìý
While Laver said that the person came to Dufferin Grove in hopes of getting aid, she said the majority of remaining occupants have been clear over the months-long effort that their hope was for housing that worked for them.
“People are just waiting for housing offers that actually meet their needs.”
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