Cathy Crowe is a street nurse in Toronto recognized locally and nationally for her work on health and social justice issues. In this Rabble article, she reports on the recent eviction of homeless people camped out in Trinity Bellwoods park and compares it to the violent eviction of people from Toronto’s Tent City 20 years ago. She documents how homelessness has “exploded” in the city and how the homeless sector has been particularly hard hit by the pandemic. In an inclusive society committed to the Commons, everyone would have access to adequate housing. Crowe argues for a rights based approach calling for the meaningful engagement of people in encampments and no forced evictions. – Susan McGrath
Click here to view original web page at rabble.ca
“Shelter conditions have deteriorated. A second and third-tier of shelters now operate in congregate sites with lesser standards — case in point, they don’t have beds! An estimated 1,000 plus people are living outdoors, many in the growing number of encampments. Homeless deaths are now in the double digits every month. People are literally dying while being refused a shelter bed, let alone housing. Factcheck Toronto has delineated a long list of the city’s failures […]”
