The city, at the request of the local councillor, is implementing a plan to “address the growth of encampments” at downtown Toronto’s Clarence Square Park.
Earlier this month, Coun. Ausma Malik reached out to Gord Tanner, the general manager of Toronto’s Shelter and Support Services, to ask for what she called a “Clarence Square Action Plan,” in light of the growth of the encampment there.
She sought a multi-pronged strategy that would see “robust social services” (put in place) to “support vulnerable residents and ensure the safety and accessibility of our public space.”
Malik’s request came days after a tent at the parkette near Spadina Avenue and Wellington Street West caught fire on Feb. 29, sending flames and smoke into the sky. No one was hurt in the incident.
In a March 8 letter, the Spadina-Fort York councillor said there’s a need to “expand the collaboration between City staff, community partners, and key stakeholders to enhance the current outreach strategies, and to see visible and lasting results.”
“We have seen your team’s successful lessons in Allan Gardens, where such enhancements were made to ensure residents left the park into permanent housing solutions,” she wrote.
Malik’s request included round-the-clock security and fire personnel “to ensure safety and provide a rapid response to emergencies,” a permanent, ongoing Streets to Homes presence there with “outreach counsellors to expedite housing solution for our vulnerable neighbours,” daily visits from Parks, Recreation and Forestry crews to “help restore the park to a safe and accessible condition,” and the creation of a working group with city staff and service providers that would meet weekly to “ensure swift action as the work evolves. Lastly, she called for a formal plan for “full community use” of Clarence Square.
The downtown councillor requested a response to her letter by March 15 that would include details about how to implement her asks.
Last week I called for a multi-pronged comprehensive Clarence Square Action Plan, to work together for safety, to house vulnerable neighbours, and ensure the park can be enjoyed by all. This week, staff agreed. See the plan at https://t.co/prXEhG95m4 pic.twitter.com/2f3fM20RIn
— ausma malik (@ausmalik) March 16, 2024
On March 14, the city responded with a note outlining next steps.
“We agreed that an enhanced effort and introducing more social and health services for people living in Clarence Square is required to support individuals to move indoors to shelter or develop a plan to move into permanent housing,” Tanner wrote.
He said that the city would start by sharing information with those living there about changes they can expect in the park, enhancing security and park monitoring with two, 24/7 guards, adding daily clean ups and “regular and ongoing” visits by Toronto fire, and implementing a community safety team in the evenings to remove sharps.
The general manager of shelter and support services went on to say that between March 15 and April 30 the city would deliver a trailer to the park, much like the modified shipping container over at Allen Gardens, to “enhance outreach and supports on site” by several organizations.
The plan is to also install a second portable toilet there, implement two, 24/7 community safety teams, offer a schedule of enhanced outreach and supports, launch an “encampment prevention plan,” and establish and hold meetings with the new Clarence Square Working Group, which Tanner noted would consist of local service providers.
In a statement, City of Toronto spokesperson Elise von Scheel said that these efforts are “necessary to address the immediate needs of individuals encamped in the park, connect them to housing and shelter, and answer questions from the community.”
“We recognize housing and homelessness are complex issues that require nimble responses. We are encouraged by the success this approach has had in other parks and are focused on bringing those services to Clarence Square,” von Scheel wrote.
During an interview with CP24.com, Malik said that she’s confident that the steps being taken by the city will lead to permanent housing solutions with ongoing supports for those staying at Clarence Square.
“We want to ensure that everyone is safe where they are in this city,” she said, adding that she was deeply concerned by the fire that broke out at the parkette and wanted to ensure that the “right” resources and community services were deployed to help people.
“I was really pleased to see that (Tanner) responded to my calls,” she told CP24.com earlier this week.
Malik, who completed her first year as a Toronto city councillor in November, said that since late last year she’s been focusing her efforts on coming up with thoughtful services and supports that will result in “positive outcomes” for those staying in tents at Clarence Square.
“Evicting people from the park is not the right solution,” she noted, adding that kind of approach is both inhumane, unconstitutional, and unsuccessful.
“We need supports and ongoing solution for the residents of this park.”
Malik, who noted that the encampment at Clarence Square is part of a bigger housing crisis faced by the city, said that her focus is on ensuring that this downtown parkette is a “place for everyone in the community to enjoy.”
Lorraine Lam, a long-time outreach worker, raised a number of concerns with the city’s plan to clear Clarence Square, notably the fact that people are only staying there “because there’s no other place to go.”
Lam, a member of the Shelter and Housing Justice Network, said that what’s being done “feels like another band-aid solution” and essentially “amounts to policing people in encampments and weaponizing fire safety.”
Investing in building and sustaining deeply affordable housing with supports is the answer, she said.
“There’s a pattern of constant displacement. … Clearly (this plan for Clarence Square) is really about appeasing the people in the area who are housed and upset about the encampment,” Lam said, adding what’s most important in all of this is to centre the safety of the vulnerable individuals staying at the encampment and to ensure that they can access the supports and resources they need in the immediate area.
“The city says that (the clearing of Allan Gardens) was a success as housing was prioritized because people were visible in the park, but there are many (unhoused folks) who are less visible and they keep getting bumped down the housing list. … I have questions about the inequity of this process.”
According to the city, 34 encampment occupants from Clarence Square have been referred to indoor spaces since January 2023.