One of the city’s largest encampments is no more.
On Monday, city workers cleared the final two tents of a homeless encampment at Clarence Square Park near Wellington Street and Spadina Avenue, which was once home to about 25 people.
The clearing came following pressure from local residents. In October, a group of people staged a protest in the park, alleging city Coun. Ausma Malik (Spadina-Fort York) was missing in action on the issue, according to CityNews.
Residents told CityNews the park was unsafe, alleging they had witnessed drug trafficking, intimidation, assaults and public defecation.
On Tuesday morning, a resident who passes by the area everyday on her way to work said she was glad to see the encampment gone.
The woman, who asked TorontoToday not to use her name, said she had never personally felt unsafe in the park, but that the encampment had shifted the space’s “vibe,” making it impossible for local kids to play there.
“I think it’s a good thing,” she said of the clearing. “I just hope those people have found somewhere safe and respected, because I think that’s the challenge.”
Homeless people have lived in tents in the park on-and-off for several years, according to another local resident, but the encampment sparked significant concern for nearby residents last winter when it swelled in size.
In March, the park was home to about 15 people and about 25 structures, according to city data.
In response to concerns, Coun. Malik developed an action plan, aiming to clear the encampment and provide support to people who lived there.
In subsequent months, city staff were in the park daily offering help, services and access to shelter spaces and housing, said Elise von Scheel, a city spokesperson.
As part of the efforts, the city supported 11 people to move into permanent housing. But a far larger share found only temporary lodging.
Since March, 40 people who were living in the encampment were referred to shelters, said von Scheel.
Church of Saint Stephen-in-the-Fields Rev. Maggie Helwig said such referrals don’t often result in long-term solutions.
“The majority of people cleared from one encampment are in another encampment, if not immediately, then within a few months,” said Helwig, whose parish has supported many people living in encampments.
When an encampment is cleared, people tend to leave because they feel unsafe and take a short-term room in a shelter hotel or set up a tent elsewhere in the city, she added.
Helwig said Mayor Olivia Chow’s approach to encampment clearings has been far better than the “violent, heavy-handed” approach under former Mayor John Tory.
“But I think it is not nearly as constructive as the city portrays it as being,” she said. “When encampments are reduced in this way, people are not, on the whole, going into housing.”
Data analyzed by The Local found when the city tears down a large encampment, it is soon replaced with multiple, smaller ones — often further from the city’s downtown.
Helwig said it's been a while since she’s seen a specific woman who lived at the Clarence Square Park encampment and frequented Saint Stephen-in-the-Fields’ programs.
She said it’s likely the woman has moved to another encampment, but now, with less support.
“It’s very destabilizing,” she said. “I’ve seen people’s mental health deteriorate significantly when they’ve been moved from encampments where they had order and a sense of safety.”
Coun. Malik said in a statement on Monday that security teams will remain at the park over the next month to prevent a renewed encampment.
Staff will also remove litter and all sharp hazards that may be in the ground, she said.
Subsequently, the park will take on a very different life than it has over the past year.
Beginning this weekend, city staff will host the first of several pop-up recreation installations, via the city’s new Play Mobile initiative.
Through a partnership with Nike, the city has equipped three vans with sports equipment, which staff drive to spots around the city, offering residents the chance to play sports, such as broomball and ball hockey.
One of the vans will visit the park from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday.
In the spring, park staff will aim to remove any trace of the encampment, conducting assessments into what is needed to “re-green” the park, said Coun. Malik in the statement.
In the park on Tuesday morning, a city worker cleaning the area told TorontoToday the few remaining residents in the area the day before had been offered housing, but added that he was unsure if they accepted.
