In My Opinion: Recent story highlighted need for more homeless shelter space and support in area

By MATTHEW STEPHENS

I had recently been assigned to cover an issue regarding concerns about unhoused individuals and drug use occurring directly adjacent to a daycare facility.

Now, if you’ve been following affairs in the Scarborough Southwest ward, you may subconsciously think about the upcoming homeless shelter at 2535 Gerrard St. E., and the Teach Me to Fly Preschool across the street – which has been a contentious topic of discussion within the community.

However, after covering the shelter extensively (almost to my wit’s end), I can say, with a breath of relief, that this is not the homelessness issue I am referring to.

In an interesting and oddly similar twist of fate, the issue I am referring to pertains to a homeless encampment at Stanley G. Grizzle Park, which had been located (until recently) next to Muppets Childcare Centre and across the street from Main Street subway station.

In recent weeks, both Muppets Childcare Centre and members of the surrounding community had been navigating a homelessness encampment and persistent drug use within the park, which has had a significant impact on daily operation. (As of July 17 the encampment had been removed.)

I recently spoke with Lama Abou-Merhi, an early childhood educator and supervisor at Muppets Childcare Centre. She told me about the crippling impact dealing with unhoused individuals and drug use had on both the daycare and the community.

“Over the past several weeks, the park directly beside our daycare has become the site of a growing encampment. What began as a few tents has quickly escalated into a situation that’s impacting the daily operations of our centre and, more importantly, the safety and well-being of the children we care for,” said Abou-Merhi in a previous statement.

“Staff have witnessed drug use in plain view, loud altercations, and, on a few occasions, individuals yelling at our children and staff while on our childcare playground. Some of our families also raised concerns of used needles appearing near the encampment while walking their children to the childcare.”

I was immediately reminded of the Teach Me to Fly preschool centre operating less than three kilometres away from Muppets, which had been dealing with the same issues related to drug use and public safety in recent years.

“During the COVID-19 pandemic, we encountered homeless individuals residing in the Quarry Lands and using our playground facilities for showering. Additionally, drug paraphernalia was discovered in our playground,” said Teach Me to Fly supervisor Eloise Morrison in a Beach Metro Community News story earlier this year.

“There have been instances of inebriated individuals roaming around the adjacent parking lot, as well as individuals residing in the vicinity of the TD bank machine area. This situation had necessitated us to bring the children indoors at times to ensure their safety.”

Both daycare facilities encountered the same issues and shared the same concerns. The only difference was that Teach Me to Fly will eventually get a potential solution right across the street – Muppets will not.

Don’t get me wrong, as a member of this community who lives 900 metres away from the upcoming shelter along Gerrard, I share those concerns and frustrations over the lack of transparency and effective consultation, as well as other zoning issues that I won’t get into. I also believe that placing a shelter directly next to any facility which houses children, poses considerable risks to public safety.

However, to those who claimed that unhoused individuals don’t exist in the area, the proof is not far away.

At the time of writing this, the encampment at Stanley G. Grizzle Park has been dismantled, but those unhoused individuals don’t just magically disappear.

In fact, a recent statement from Beaches-East York Councillor Brad Bradford took the words right out of my mouth.

“The increase in drug use is in part due to a very calculated attempt by bad actors to distribute drugs amongst our most vulnerable population. Even now, when the encampment is gone, these characters may remain,” said Bradford in a recent email.

City staff said 30 per cent of Toronto’s unhoused population lives in Scarborough; if you think that population doesn’t trickle and find its way into other areas and communities, you’re sadly mistaken. Especially when that community is just a couple of kilometres away.

I asked Abou-Merhi – an individual who is currently experiencing the reality of what some residents around the Gerrard shelter fear – what her thoughts were about the upcoming shelter at 2535 Gerrard St. E.

“In principle, having a properly resourced and well-managed shelter could contribute to a more sustainable solution — especially if it includes supports for mental health, addiction, and housing transition. However, any solution needs to be part of a coordinated strategy that also addresses public safety and ensures spaces like childcare centres are protected,” said Abou-Merhi.

This led me to question what kind of effective solution people are expecting to address homelessness in the area. Whether people believe it or not, clearly, unhoused individuals and uncontrolled drug use exists in the area – and it’s having an impact on the community.

After speaking with Abou-Merhi, I left with the impression that she was in favour of any potential solution to the issue; as long as it was managed effectively. And the upcoming shelter on Gerrard could potentially be that solution. 

Without more shelter spaces, issues like these will persist. Hopefully, that could be lessened with a shelter in the area.

Unfortunately, safety concerns will always be in the back of my mind when it comes to the operation of shelter facilities – and they should be.

After the fatal shooting of a woman in Leslieville near a now-closed safe drug consumption site on Queen Street East near Carlaw Avenue back in 2023, it’s become abundantly clear that sites like these must be managed and supervised with the upmost efficiency moving forward. And although I have little faith in the city’s promises to ensure public safety this time around, I agree with Abou-Merhi’s sentiment that any potential solution is better than none.

Again, don’t get me wrong, 2535 Gerrard St. E. is (in my opinion) not the best place for a shelter to be built. And I’m sure other locations have popped up in recent months that are much more suitable for a shelter site.

However, based on the time it has taken for the city to acquire the site, conduct studies and surveys, get approval, and provide (ineffective) consultation before even getting shovels in the ground; we simply don’t have time to wait for another drawn-out, arduous process, just to arrive at the same conclusion.

There is an issue that needs to be addressed, and although I don’t entirely support city staff’s judgement or implementation when it comes to the Gerrard shelter site – I’m in favour of a possible solution to protect all communities in the area.