At the baseball diamond at Toronto’s Moss Park, something other than angels are in the outfield…
Homeless people are camped out in the outfield, essentially making the baseball diamond unusable – and perhaps even unsafe.
Sadly, reporting that yet another Toronto park has been taken over by a homeless encampment is about as newsworthy as reporting that there is salt water in the Pacific Ocean.
But at Moss Park in downtown Toronto, a sad new benchmark has been achieved. Which is to say that a homeless encampment has not only claimed the parkland but also the recreation facilities as well.
The issue of homelessness in Canada has reached critical levels, with tent cities proliferating across the country under Justin Trudeau's leadership, despite increased federal investments in housing.
— Rebel News Canada (@RebelNews_CA) July 4, 2024
FULL REPORT by @ThevoiceAlexa: https://t.co/kGTzNrVZ5S
Indeed, do you remember the 1994 Disney flick “Angels in the Outfield”? Not to worry. Nobody remembers this flick which is cheesier than a bucketful of Bulgarian feta. The plot involved angels (as in celestial beings) assisting the California Angels (as in professional baseball players), allowing the team to go from sad sacks to champions. Har-har…
Anyway, there are no angels, (heavenly or otherwise) in the outfield at the Moss Park diamond. Rather, homeless people are camped out in the outfield, essentially making the baseball diamond unusable – and perhaps even unsafe.
And what’s more, the City of Toronto seems to be OK with the status quo. We reached out to the city’s media relations department regarding the occupation of the ballpark. And this is the response we received:
“Encampments are a symptom of the housing affordability crisis, shelter demand that exceeds availability and other social crises such as mental health and drug toxicity.
“The City of Toronto's approach to encampments is one that seeks to balance the needs of people experiencing homelessness and the needs of the surrounding communities.
“Moss Park is an important site for City staff who work with people experiencing homelessness. As part of the City's encampment protocol, staff attend the park regularly to build rapport with individuals, offer services and work with them towards housing. The best way to reduce the number of encampments in the city is to help people obtain and maintain permanent housing. Of the 18 people currently encamped at Moss Park, seven have active housing plans, and the City has resolved 35 encampments at the park since July 1.
“Currently, Metrolinx construction has necessitated a reduction in the number of recreation permits for the baseball diamond and other facilities at Moss Park. City staff continuously monitor the area, remove debris and provide daily clean up of hazards so community members can use the park safely.”
Perhaps we’re missing some nuance here, but this doesn’t sound like an action plan. Rather, it sounds as though the city is waving the white flag of civic surrender. Sad.
Indeed, we would say that if Disney were to shoot a reboot of Angels in the Outfield today and the setting was shifted to Toronto, we’d wager that the kid in the original film, who was praying for divine intervention in order to improve the fortunes of the hometown baseball club, would instead be praying that someone at the City of Toronto could reclaim the diamond at Moss Park so that it could be used for its intended purpose: namely, a place where kids can safely play baseball…
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