Toronto clears another homeless encampment, citing fire hazard

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Dozens of people gathered outside a church in Toronto's Kensington Market neighborhood Thursday as city officials began clearing another homeless encampment considered a fire hazard.

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City vehicles were seen removing tents and other property from a camp near St Stephen's Anglican Church in the Fields after around 12 residents fled the site.

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Toronto Fire Services said it ordered the removal of “combustible materials” and ignition sources that had accumulated at the Bellevue Avenue site, “resulting in an increased fire and life safety risk that required immediate action.”

The city and church say Tuesday's order initiated the process to evict the location. The latest notice to remove items from the street was issued by the city on Wednesday and posted in the area.

The church's minister, the Rev Maggie Helwig, said the vacate notice came as a shock to many in the area, leaving residents with just hours to pack their belongings into bin bags and find a new place to go.

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Helwig said many of the camp's residents have become her friends and the clearing marks a “very sad moment.”

“My friends have fled and I don't even know where most of them are. It's very sad that I have to be here and witness this because this is my church,” she told The Canadian Press at the site of the camp.

City officials, who recently cleared another encampment in Dufferin Grove Park, said all residents at the Bellevue Avenue site were offered shelter and seven accepted.

Helwig said the men reluctantly accepted the offer.

“Sheltering is not a long-term solution,” Helwig said. “People often fight and self-discharge over a period of days or weeks. Very few people can stay in shelters. It's not a particularly manageable lifestyle. It's not a particularly tolerant environment—for all the stress and rigors of outdoor life, many people find it a better environment than a city shelter.”

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Camp residents are “very upset” about having to leave the camp, Helwig said.

“It's very frustrating. It's just trauma on top of trauma. I'm very concerned about the impact this will have on people's mental health,” she said.

She added that the church, which has been the site of the encampment for nearly four years, has not received an eviction notice since November 2023.

Ceci Bellacoen, a former Dufferin Grove encampment resident, was among supporters who gathered outside the church Thursday morning to show solidarity with those being evicted, whom he called “some of the most vulnerable in the city.”

Bellacoen echoed Helwig's sentiments, saying many homeless people are reluctant to go to shelters. He said the reason is simple: Shelters can be too cruel.

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“I was violently attacked four times … by residents living there,” he said, adding that one of his friends who now lives at the shelter reported seeing people with guns inside.

He said he hopes the city will change its policy on encampments.

“Instead of sending housing offers to the camp office, we need help. We need houses in new places where people can go home and actually be safe. Half the time (the camp) is the safest option available to people,” he said.

The St. Stephen's Church Camp in the Fields is the subject of Helwig's book, “The Camp: Resistance, Grace, and the Homeless Community.” Published earlier this year, the book details Helwig's fight to keep the cemetery open for those who need a place to live. On Wednesday, less than 24 hours before the camp was cleared, he was awarded the Toronto Book Prize.

Don Oravec, one of the awards judges, was among the crowd of camp supporters Thursday morning. He said Helwig's book changed his view of the issue and it was important that all levels of government got involved in providing better support to those suffering from homelessness.

“It's incredible that she gets an award on a Wednesday night and this happens on a Thursday morning,” he said.

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