By Fred Alvarada
Fred is staff with FOCUS MEDIA ARTS CENTRE, funded by the Government of Canada through the Local Journalism Initiative

This week's lead story centres on: TCHC erects a gate around its residents to prevent loitering drug addiction issues.
 
Gated communities are often home to high-value properties, and/or are set up as  retirement villages.  Not so for residents living at 310 Dundas Ave.
 
An iron security fence has been recently erected around a Toronto Community Housing (TCHC) property that is home to elderly tenants, residing in the William Dennison building at 310 Dundas Ave. E. -- located on the northeast corner of the intersection of Dundas and Sherbourne Streets. The main purpose of the security fence is to reduce loitering in that particular corner where a popular convenience store operates offering services and food products to local residents.

 “That was primarily for crowd control. I’m not sure whether it succeeded,” said Diane Walter, Executive Director of Margaret’s Housing and Community Support Services, which operates a drop-in centre that hands out meals and snacks daily.

“The fence … was installed with the support of the building’s tenants as a way to deter people from entering an area that lacks visibility, which historically had been used for illegal activity,” TCHC said in a statement.

Around the building – especially on surrounding streets – there have long been security concerns. “Our Community Safety Unit works with partners in social service agencies to help engage with residents of the area and maintain a level of stability in the community,” a spokes person for TCHC said.

Critics argue that fencing is increasingly been used to deal with issues of poverty, chronic homelessness, drug addictions and mental health and that it’s not a long-term solution for the problems in the area.  
 
Melissa is a resident of Sherbourne and Dundas area, who also thinks the fence is more a preventative measure then a long-term solution. “The answer to why they erected the fence is because drugs are rampant, very rampant, besides stealing, theft, rape, crime, and everything of crime you can imagine of its right here. So, I think they are trying to make residents feel safer meanwhile this isn’t going to do anything. The main thing is drug addiction, if you can just go five second down the road there’s so much drugs and that alone makes it unsafe. Mental illness plays a huge part in drug addiction. There’s a need to be more support for people with severe mental illnesses.” Melissa said in an interview to RPTV.

In this weekly news show hosted by RPTV reporters, Fred Alvarado, Murphy Brown, and Jabin Haque, we present news that impacts on Regent Park and other surrounding communities located in the Down Town East communities of Toronto.
 
Episode 22 for the week of March 2nd to March 10th, 2022 features segments on:

* The Corner of Sherbourne and Dundas Becomes a Gated Community (01:17 min);
* The Children’s Book Bank Relocates to the Daniels Spectrum (05:03 min);
* Project Hope – Regent Park Police Officers Support Afghan Refugees with Donations (07:59 min);
* Salvation Army Downtown East Ministries Relocates Operations (14:03 min);
* City of Toronto Releases “Black Bodies” Video as Part of Toronto Voices Vaccine Engagement Series (15:31 min);
* Covid-19 and Vaccination Update (19:26 min); Events and Jobs in Regent Park Community (22:48 min).