This afternoon, the @cityoftoronto put these notices on the foam domes in encampments, stating that they are unsafe & must be removed. Just a reminder: thousands of people are sleeping outside; the City’s winter plan only accommodates a few hundred. What abt everyone else? [1/7] 
The domes are the safest options for 1000+ people to stay warm as the weather gets colder. Ppl don’t have to light candles for heat; it’s safer. each has a carbon monoxide detector. Without them, ppl are just outside with a sleeping bag. Rmbr the storm we just had? [2/7]
The City says: go to a shelter - there are many beds, & they publish data online that indicates a 70% capacity. But I call several times a day and am told “Try again in an hour”. There are no beds available. Don’t believe me? Watch this: vimeo.com/480618151 [3/7]
The City says they have no funds for options! We need to appeal to other levels of government. Just a reminder that they just employed 16 pedestrian cops. We can end homelessness; they just choose not to. [4/7]
At a time when we aren’t allowed over 5 people indoors, the City says the Better Living Centre is an option for those outside: 100 ppl put in a congregant setting. Do COVID safety protocols not apply to homeless people? [5/7]
They offer other spaces that are over an hour on transit from people’s healthcare, social, emotion supports -warehousing people into death traps (ppl have literally died after moving into these "options"). [6/7]
IMO it's not about “safety” but abt optics. the domes/tents are visual evidence of the City’s continued failure to care for the vulnerable. The City wants homeless ppl to disappear; might as well put up eviction signs that say “be invisible & die where we can't see you." [7/7]
do i sound angry and cynical? i am. i'm also deeply sad. i heard about four deaths in the community today. FOUR. one was a good friend. he deserves a new thread. he deserved a better life, dignity, choices, and he deserved much more than this fuckery.
@cityoftoronto [8/7]
@cityoftoronto [8/7]
just a reminder that the City says these glass pods are supposed to be safe options: 100 people in a congregant setting.
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