Raise the Hammer

One comment was made about the Queen & Sherbourne area, & N. to Dundas & what a mess it currently is. Yes, it is now a high crime area relative to other areas of Toronto, but was that caused by a concentration of Ontario Housing,& shelters in the area? Many of the Ont. Housing developments have been there for many years before things took a turn for the worse. Substances abusers may be poor, but most poor people are not substances abusers. (& not all substance abusers are poor.)

Maybe some of the causes of that area's decline was the gentrification of areas East of Jarvis? People who could live comfortably in those areas ended up moving because of higher rents, & accommodation being sold out from under many tenants. Home owners in the area saw their taxes dramatically increase in recent times & sold out to grateful Yuppies & developers.

A very large Salvation Army men's shelter is due to open soon near Shuter & Jarvis, but tenants must go through substance re-hab first before they can live there, but more importantly What Other Area would have accepted the building or the tenants?

A good friend became seriously handicapped a few years ago. After being released from a physical rehab facility, she knew that she could not yet safely live on her own. So she moved from her former home in the De Grassie St. area to a relative's home in Mississauga. A 1/2 hour visit to the eye, heart, diabetes clinics, or a dietician's appointment @ St. Michael's Hospital took often 7 hours to accomplish. (The wait for Wheeltrans on both ends of the trip often greatly exceeded the appointment time + actual travel time.)

While she was in the 'Burbs she was supposed to be walking & getting more independent. The distances involved in getting to the drugstore, & the supermarket to get her diabetic diet & meds were impossible. Winter walking was treacherous, & there was no one around if she did fall. That was the most frightening thing of all. The barren nature of daytime suburbia. No local coffee shops to gab in, no libraries, no matinee movies near, & no familiar faces. Just huge unending big box stores, when she could get a ride to shop at all. If she had been better able to cope with public transit, it still would have been impossible since the 'Burb buses only run with any frequency during rush hours. Riding crowded buses is difficult enough when you are 100% healthy.

She has since moved back to Downtown Toronto (Jarvis & Shuter area) into an affordable housing unit. She has never been happier or more physically active & healthy in years! There are things to do, concerts to attend, the St. Lawrence Market, the local Library, movies, & Toronto's unending cultural events. St. Michael's Hospital, clinics & her family Dr. are within walking distance in good weather.

Older people, & handicapped people do Not want to be shipped off to Suburbia, putting them miles away from their family Dr., clinics & hospitals, & the places that they know & feel safe in. How much more $$ is Hamilton prepared to spend on DARTs, or do we just make people wait longer? People with young children do not want to be in a place with Malls as the only place to go with their kids. (They do want daycare, museums, zoos, libraries, & cultural events within a decent distance, just like the rest of us.) They don't want to pay more for everything -& you Do pay more in suburbia. They do want to keep their kids in sports & activities, which also often costs much more outside of the City.

Public transit in Hamilton, outside the city core is MUCH worse than suburban Toronto & Mississauga. Do you want people who need help housing themselves to buy a car? Maybe the elderly could hop on their bikes, & climb that hill on Confederation Pkwy?

Mixed income neighbourhoods & buildings are the best solution for any City. Saying that the City core is "Too Good" for some of it's citizens, is a statement about the class warfare that seems to be bubbling up more often of late. ('Seen the movie, " Area 51" ?) I read a letter to Ed. last week from one 'gentleman' who suggested that 'they all be moved to Mudd St., & Confederation Pkwy.' He lived in the outskirts of the GHA. So, why didn't he suggest that all the poor be moved to his area?