‘Nothing is really getting better’: This Toronto park went from zero tents to being the city’s largest homeless encampment. What happened?
Kai Downey does not want to be in a tent in Dufferin Grove Park.
She arrived a few days back, hauling her bright blue tent from her former campsite near Toronto’s lakeshore, after unwanted attention from another person left her feeling scared. The west-end park, a 5.3-hectare expanse of green space across from Dufferin Mall near Bloor Street, meant access to a washroom, a water fountain and basic essentials in the bustling area.
On a sweltering August afternoon, Downey, who is in her early 20s, stood beside her setup in a less populated area near the park’s northern edge, as two outreach workers from a local social service agency made their rounds to hand out water bottles and single-use SPF packets. They asked what she needed. The answer was the same as it’s ever been: housing.
