What Happened to Tent City Residents?
On the morning of September 24, 2002, Tent City residents were suddenly and without warning confronted by city police and private security guards. They were ordered to leave the Home Depot site immediately without taking any belongings with them. Workers quickly erected a higher fence around the site, new gates and floodlights along the perimeter. A considerable security force was posted to prevent anyone from entering. Later, each resident was allowed to return one at a time under security escort to remove whatever they could carry from their homes.
The eviction took city council by surprise though Mayor Mel Lastman did hold a press conference while the event was taking place to say that Home Depot had acted on its own and that he was glad to be rid of the "eyesore." Although he claimed that there were 200 beds available in the city's shelter system, there were actually less than 20 and no special provisions had been made for the evicted residents. The Toronto Disaster Relief Committee, Tent City members and supporters invaded a city council meeting and demanded immediate action. By evening, temporary space had been found at a community centre and mats were available at some of the shelters.
After a couple of days of negotiations with city hall, there was finally some good news. Using provincial funds, the city offered a rent subsidy to former Tent City residents if they could find themselves apartments for $875 or less. The fund would pay the difference between what they could obtain from the welfare housing allowance ($325) and the rental charge. The city would also guarantee the first and last month's rent deposit in a letter to landlords.
As of this writing (January 2003), over 70 former Tent City people have moved into apartments.
Rainer "Dri" Driemeyer is very happy with his new apartment in Toronto's Parkdale. He's just moved into a one-bedroom unit on the ninth floor and he can't believe the view. He's conscious that being a Tent City evictee got him to the front of the line of people waiting for housing. He rationalizes that this is a pilot project that could prove beneficial to others. He acknowledges that there are thousands more who need help. Dri points out the inadequacies of the program: that it's a subsidy going into private landlord pockets instead of building new social housing; that the lack of affordable housing is still not addressed. But after four years at Tent City, he's glad to be in real housing and has big plans for getting back to painting and poetry.
The Toronto Disaster Relief Committee continues its campaigns for the building of affordable housing and for the expansion of emergency shelters. Most recently, the TDRC held a protest for more shelter beds at Mayor Mel Lastman's New Year's Day levee.
With many reporters in attendance, activists and homeless people lined up in city hall to meet the mayor and press him to take action on the crisis.
Sadly, one of the most active members of the Tent City community died over the holidays. Brian Boyd, who featured prominently in Shelter from the Storm as someone involved in trying to find a solution to the Tent City predicament, passed away in his sleep. Brian was still on the waiting list for subsidized housing and had spent the last months sleeping on the floors of one Out of the Cold church after another. On his last day, he and a friend had panhandled enough money to get a hotel room for one night. His friend, known as the Colonel, was not able to wake him the next morning. Brian was 39 years old. Although the exact cause of death is not known, his friends say Brian died of homelessness. They carried his picture when they met the mayor on New Year's Day.