Camps in Toronto have doubled since last spring: the city

Toronto's parks and green spaces have seen twice as many campers as a year ago, new city data reveals.

The latest Parks, Forestry and Recreation (PFR) figures for March 15, 2024 show a total of 202 campsites were reported at 72 sites across the city, compared to 82 at 24 sites on the same date in 2023.

Currently, the largest campground in Toronto is Clarence Square, which has 23 campsites and is currently being cleared.

Clark Beach Park in Cherry Beach was second with 13 parks, while Allan Gardens had 12 tent/canopy structures, according to PFR.

The latest numbers are close to what was seen at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic on March 15, 2021, when outreach workers counted 291 camps in 45 parks.

All this does not surprise Kari Kozierok, executive director of Ve'ahavta, a local organization that supports people excluded from poverty and hardship.

For nearly 30 years, the nonprofit organization's volunteers have provided nightly outreach in downtown and Scarborough and North York in two vans filled with food and supplies. These days, the nonprofit supports about 250 to 300 people a night.

“We've been seeing more and more camps lately,” he told CP24 in an interview Thursday.

According to Kozierok, the high cost of living and inadequate social assistance are causing people to lose their homes. He said those struggling to make ends meet have no choice but to live in camps because there are no shelters, a problem compounded by the lack of a plan to support the flow of refugees. In the GTA, they are also looking for shelter.

“We've been predicting this for years,” Kozierok said.

“It's straight math. There is nothing surprising here.”

Long-time employee Greg Cook supports the homeless, including those living in encampments.

He said rents, wages and social assistance were “not keeping pace” and were causing more people to become homeless across the region.

According to Cook, in today's market, finding a decent, affordable rental unit is impossible for a homeless person.

He also noted that because there is not enough space in the shelter system, and some people stay away from it for various reasons, an increasing number of people are turning to live in camps.

That reality is further reflected, Cook said, in findings from Daily Bread's 2023 Who's Hungry report, which showed that food bank visits have doubled each year.

“Either you pay the rent or you have food to eat,” he said, adding that at some point both could run out.

Among other things, more affordable housing options and increased social assistance are needed to address the crisis, Cook said, adding that the number of recent encampments in the city is underreported because a number of sites he knows of are not listed. list.

Elise von Scheil, a spokeswoman for the City of Toronto, called the encampments “a symptom of a housing affordability crisis, demand for housing outstripping affordability, rising cost of living, inadequate income and other social crises such as drug addiction and mental health crises.”

He said city staff from multiple departments are working together to help those living in tents in the parks access services, including housing and shelter.

Outreach partners visit large camps daily to provide support, shelter referrals and health and safety services, von Scheil said. Toronto Fire also regularly attends these sites, he added.

“We've seen success in our approach to large campgrounds that integrate services, support, cleaning and fire safety,” von Scheil said in a statement to CP24.com.

“Parks where this method has been used, such as Allan Gardens, have seen a significant reduction in the number of campers.”

According to the City of Toronto, 880 people moved from the streets to the shelter system in 2023, and another 5,900 people moved from the shelter system to permanent housing.

“The number of homeless and encamped people in Canadian cities is steadily increasing, and more needs to be done to address the challenges of the housing crisis,” he said.

“The City of Toronto is committed to creating sustainable housing solutions and providing people-centred care for both sheltered and unsheltered homeless people.”

The city's Department of Housing and Support Services will present a staff report on Toronto's encampment strategy to the Economic and Community Development Committee on April 30.