By Fred Alvarado
Fred is journalist with FOCUS MEDIA ARTS CENTRE.

Episode 14 for the week of December 1st to December 7th, 2021 features segments on:

• Nearly 600,000 People Visit Ontario’s Food Banks Annually
• Regent Park Community Shocked Over Police Response To Youth Horse Play  
• SDP Planning Committee Meeting Approves Futbol Academy Presentation to The Upcoming Stakeholders Table
• TCHC Announcement to Unilaterally Develop A Community Benefits Working Group Terms of Reference Meets with Opposition From SDP Planning Committee Members
• Ontario Reviewing 3rd dose Vaccine Strategy In Wake Of Omicron Variant
• Events in Regent Park Community

The following is two stories that were featured in the news.

Community Shocked Over Police Response To Youth Horse Play Incident
By Fred Alvarado

At approximately 4:45 pm, on Sunday November 21, 2021, Toronto Metropolitan Police officers from 51 Division, stormed a community youth event been held at 50 Regent Park Blvd.  The youth event was organized by TCHC and Tridel, in partnership with Healing As One,  YEY and other youth groups in the community, as a way of consulting with youth around phase 4 & 5 of the Regent Park Redevelopment .  

According to TCHC staff and community leaders that were present, police were responding to several 911 resident complaints of youth roaming the building hallways and kicking at resident doors, as well as a 911 allegation of a youth roaming the halls with a knife.  Latter it was determined that - towards the end of the event, some of the youth were involved in a Tic Toc game challenge that involved kicking at building resident doors and running away.  However no knife was observed or discovered.  

According to witnesses, 5 – 6 officers arrived in police cruisers, including an officer carrying an assault rifle and holding it in a manner deemed menacing to the 50 or so youth who were present.   It was also reported that police began aggressively questioning the youth about a knife, before staff and youth leaders intervene to calm the situation.  No one was arrested or charged and no knife was found.

In a social media post related to the incident, one building resident who admitted to calling security argued, “Those young adults were running around the building, almost kicked my door in and scared myself and my young children half to death! When I confronted calmly and asked them why they kicked my door they then started screaming at me and calling me very rude names.  Don’t get me wrong I don’t condone how they were approached by the police officers I’m just saying that these kids need to be held accountable for their actions.  They traumatized my daughter who is 5 years old and now is having bad dreams of our door being kicked in because of these young men. I called security to let them know of the situation going on that day in my building.  Security asked if any of them had weapons, I told them no they’re just young kids causing issues in the building.”  
A follow up community meeting will be held on December 02, at the Regent Park Community Centre at 403 Shutter Street, from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm to discuss the incident.  Regent Park TV will be on hand to report on it in the next upcoming issue of the Regent Park TV news.

Nearly 600,000 people visit Ontario’s Food Banks Annually 

The use of food banks in Ontario rose 10 percent during the first year of the pandemic to the highest levels since the recession, a new report has found.

Nearly 600,000 people paid more than 3.6 million visits to food banks in Ontario between April 1, 2020 and March 31, 2021, according to an annual report by Feed Ontario, a collective of starving aid organizations in the province.

Siu Mee Cheng, the group’s interim chief executive, said COVID-19 has exacerbated income insecurity and affordability problems in the province. “This is an extremely alarming trend,” she said in an interview. ...The pandemic has had an impact on individuals and families, and as a result, they are coming to the food banks.”

The number of those who needed basic food aid has increased by 10 percent this year compared to the year before – the highest increase in a single year since 2009, the report states. The document reflects data collected by 132 food banks and 1,100 affiliated social support organizations in Ontario.

Cheng said the current social security programs in the province, including the Ontario Works and Ontario Disability Support Program, are not comprehensive and that those who trust them still end up accessing food banks. “They represent 59 percent of all visitors to the food bank,” she said. “Social assistance programs are not sufficient enough to support individuals to buy the food they need and solve their hunger problems.”

Meanwhile, less than one percent of those who accessed food banks received the Canada Emergency Response Benefit, introduced by the federal government to help those who lost their jobs due to COVID-19.

“The CERB advantage was to do what it was supposed to do. It enabled individuals to secure the basic necessities of life, including food,” Cheng said.

The report shows that 86 per cent of visitors to the food bank are tenants instead of social housing tenants, and more than 50 per cent of the theme quoted that housing and supply costs forced them to apply for basic food aid. “Affordable housing is a big reason when it comes to driving individuals to food banks,” Cheng said.

The number of food bank users who were 65 years or older has increased by 36 percent since last year and by 64 percent since 2008.

The report showed that older adults are almost twice as likely to access a food bank compared to those under 65 years of age. It also found that a third of food bank users were people with disabilities. “It’s a really sad and worrying trend that we’re seeing right now in society,” Cheng said. “Some of the most vulnerable individuals … have to face hunger problems and that they have to turn to food banks to alleviate some of these hunger problems.”

“Once the pandemic ends, the impact on individuals going to the food banks will continue several years after,” she said. “We are not expecting the numbers to fall for several years, unfortunately. It will probably continue to rise.”