I'm like a pencil;
sometimes sharp,
most days
well-rounded,
other times
dull or
occasionally
broken.
Still I write.
j.g. lewis
is a writer/photographer in Toronto.
Month: July 2020
question solutions
Please justify your answer
tell me the problem
07/10/2020 j.g.l.
Posted on July 9, 2020 by j.g.lewisLeave a comment
It’s 9:23 a.m. on Wednesday. The street is not silent as cars and bikes stream by on this hot summer morning..
A young woman sits quietly on a metal bench in the shadow of the condominium across the street, knapsack across her lap and lighter in hand, the small flame heating up whatever she has in her hand. An older guy stands over her, looking down, syringe in hand, oblivious as I walk by.
The street corner is littered with take-away coffee cups, plastic bottles, bags, blue straps and used syringes.
This has become a common street corner scene in downtown Toronto.
Last Sunday, about 8:30 p.m., I watched one man help another man find a vein on the same sidewalk bench, and then stick a needle in his arm.
Sure enough, the needle was there the next morning, along with others.
Sadly Sunday evening’s scene was 50 steps away from a safe injection site that offers supervised drug injection by harm-reduction workers. The facility was open at the time, but this did not make a difference to these users.
It’s sad that any addiction has come to this point.
It is even sadder that those who chose to use do so on city streets where the remains of their deeds are tossed away in places people, children, and dogs walk regularly.
There is evidence of hard drug use on these streets pretty much each day. Used syringes are becoming as common as discarded facemasks. I often phone 311 and provide a description and coordinates, often more then one needle at a time, in several different places.
The next day those needles, or hypodermic syringes, may not be there, but others are.
Daily I walk these streets, usually early morning when there are fewer people out and about. Social distancing is easier. Daily exercise is necessary.
Each day I become more concerned for my safety and for that of my neighbours.
When the safe injection site opened, much was said about this facility making the streets safer.
What we have seen is an influx of traffic.
The streets are not safer; not for those who pass by.
It has taken a pandemic to cast eyes on the issue of homelessness in Toronto
Seeing the problem is easy. Fixing it, apparently, is not.
With COVID-19 and dangers of its spread, along with respecting social distancing, space in city shelters has been dramatically reduced over past months. Some temporary respite shelter space has been set up, and reportedly city agencies were offering space in some hotels, but there simply is not the available space to handle an issue of this magnitude.
For weeks now, tents have been popping up in a couple of downtown parks. These encampments continue to grow. There are close to 50 tents set up on any given day in Moss Park.
Each morning I walk by the encampment. I see the garbage spread across the grass, the feces and piss puddles in surrounding lanes, and the used needles on the sidewalk.
It’s not healthy for either the campers or for the community.
There was a recent stabbing in the park, the victim listed in serious condition. Police reports do not indicate an arrest.
But the Toronto Police do report one of the tents was being used to “prepare and sell drugs.” A week old news release indicates a quantity of Fentanyl was seized along with cocaine, cash, and a loaded Smith and Wesson semi-automatic firearm.
Three people were arrested.
And the tents remain.
