Residents of downtown Toronto have written to the city about a homeless encampment – Toronto

Residents of a downtown Toronto neighborhood are calling on the municipal government to take action when it comes to a homeless encampment in their community.

A group of more than a dozen local businesses and residences wrote to Mayor Olivia Chow and other officials. This raises a number of serious security issues.

“Residents are experiencing fear, stress and anxiety from this camp,” the letter said.

Clarence Square Park, near West Front Street and Spadina Avenue, is now mostly occupied by densely packed tents.

The letter was also sent to Spadina-Fort York Councilor and Deputy Mayor Ausma Malik, Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw, MPP Chris Glover and MP Kevin Vuong.

Residents say that they have witnessed many incidents in the last few months. Among them is the fact of physical violence against a female employee of a nearby enterprise.

Their main concerns also include harassment, human feces and urine in the park, and heating tents with propane tanks.

“We want this park cleaned up. We want it to be a safe place again,” said Jason Backes, a property manager for the area and a resident himself. “We want to take our kids to the park.”

So far, it's not something he's comfortable with at all.

“Unfortunately, there have been roof explosions during COVID,” he said. “Now they have a generator. There were several fires.”

Toronto Fire Services (TFS) confirms that it has recently responded to a camp fire. In a video shot by Global News, thick smoke and flames can be seen. TFS tells us there were no reported injuries and the cause has not been determined.

Area resident Winnie McDonagh is among those calling for the park to be cleaned up.

“One of my original ideas when the armories were proposed was to move their entire crew into one of the armories so they could stay together,” McDonagh said during the interview.

Deputy Mayor Malik said in an email to Global News that while he understands and shares residents' concerns, moving people out of city parks without adequate shelter and shelter has historically not produced sustainable results.

“Often, this approach has led to the creation of new camps in other parks. We need a multi-pronged approach to create a sustainable solution,” he wrote.

Malik says he spent months in contact with the community, condominium associations, property management companies, BIAs and local service providers. He said he regularly meets with city officials to expedite work on emergency measures.

This includes daily on-site visits by outreach staff, 24-hour security and site visits by Toronto Fire for assessment and education purposes, as well as removal of propane tanks, butane cylinders and other fire hazards.

Outreach worker Lorraine Lam says that while camps aren't the ideal solution, for some it's the only option.

“The encampments are a symptom of a really deep housing crisis that we have and it's been getting worse for decades,” he said.

While the city's budget talks have largely focused on raising property taxes borne by homeowners, Lam is also focusing on rising rents.

“We're now in mid-February and many winter poles close in April, leaving hundreds of people with no choice.”

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