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Thursday, October 14, 2010
Some quotes from the Parkdale meeting on recent violence
Tonight, the Parkdale Community Crisis Response and Recovery Network held a special meeting for the community to come out and share their views on the recent shootings and violence in our area as well as ask any questions they might have.
I attended and spent my energy listening and thinking. As someone who has worked with vulnerable, poor and sometimes gang-involved youth for almost 20 years, I do have some thoughts on what strategies work for young people but tonight was a night to really listen to the pain and insight of the people of Parkdale.
Below I have typed out quotes I heard tonight. I think, as a group, they give you some idea as to how passionate and diverse the group’s views are.
We need more lights on Close Ave. – it’s too dark there.
The parkette between Jameson Ave and Close Ave is very dangerous at night.
If you see dirty needles around, don’t pick them up. Call the Parkdale Health Centre at 416-537-2455 and someone will clean it up for you. There are people on staff who do this as part of their job.
Nothing has changed in this neighbourhood since I was 13. I am 20 now and nothing has gotten better.
Where are we living? Isn’t this Toronto?
It’s important to realize there isn’t a good relationship between police and our young people and our poor people.....but we are trying to build bridges.
Maybe we should have a community clean-up and bring pride back to our community.
When I lived on MacDonell, I phoned the police late at night because someone was being badly beaten up on the street. In fact, 6 of us called. The police arrived the next morning.
You tell us these were targeted shootings but anyone could have gotten hit. What if the shooter has bad aim?
As each of my children have grown up, there has been less and less for them to do over the years. Where have all these services and programs gone?
Sometimes we feel like the police don’t care. After the shooting of my brother and sister’s friends, as soon as we got subsidized housing, my mom moved us out of Parkdale. We left. And now I come back and can’t believe I once thought all this was normal.
Even since my friend got killed last week, I am scared to death. When night comes, I get inside.
I am worried about walking from King St. to my place on Jameson. I work shift work. There are kids out at all hours. There is gambling all over the street. I was robbed and now I am scared to walk home at night.
I work with people who are street-involved, including some drug dealers. One of the main problems is there are no decent jobs for these people. We spend money on the police, on the courts, on jail but we can’t afford to pay people $15 an hour to help them get out of this lifestyle?
I am concerned about the influx of police in our area. I see random young men of colour being stopped and questioned without cause. I work with youth and many of the young men of colour say they’ve been stopped and asked for their I.D. without being detained or arrested. Why are we collecting information on young black men in our community? What options do they have of they don’t want to give any information?
Prostitutes and drug users are also members of our community. They are also mothers with children. I want us to balance our need for safety with tolerance.
We go through hell. When I come home at 12:30 from working, I am greeted by these young guys who tell me ‘this is my turf’. They tell me they are the prince here. I tell them if they are the prince, then I am the queen! My building is a community. Parkdale is ours! We should take it back.
I’ve lived here for 37 years. But now, it’s a sin to bring up my granddaughter up in this neighbourhood the way it is now.
When I was younger, I was involved with lots of activities at the community centre. I haven’t been seeing many activities on the bulletin board lately.
I called the police and the officer was so terrible to me. I think it is because my English isn’t so good. He yelled at me and was rude. I said I would never call the police again. When my daughter calls the police, her English is very good, and she gets treated very well. I would ask the police, please, when we call, speak with us gently and be patient with us.
Maybe it’s time we had a town hall meeting with the superintendents of both police divisions and let them know what we think and what’s going on.
Maybe there should be different types of policing. Not just squad cars that come in.
Lots of our kids are hungry. Lots of our kids want something to do. We need a youth space. What about OV’s? It’s been empty for a long time. We could turn it into a youth centre or lounge.
Action that we were encouraged to take:
Join the Parkdale Community Crisis Response and Recovery Network mailing list and find out about any upcoming meetings and events:
Shirley Hepditch
416-537-0275 ext 302
shirley.hepditch@pchc.on.ca
Call the police if you witness a crime
911
If you don’t want an officer to come to your door, tell them clearly you don’t want to speak with an officer in person and they will call you back instead of coming in person.
Call the police to get involved in the Community Police Liaison Committee
416-808-2222
You can report crimes or tips anonymously at:
222-TIPS
You can find out more about your rights at:
Parkdale Community Legal Services
416-531-2411
I attended and spent my energy listening and thinking. As someone who has worked with vulnerable, poor and sometimes gang-involved youth for almost 20 years, I do have some thoughts on what strategies work for young people but tonight was a night to really listen to the pain and insight of the people of Parkdale.
Below I have typed out quotes I heard tonight. I think, as a group, they give you some idea as to how passionate and diverse the group’s views are.
We need more lights on Close Ave. – it’s too dark there.
The parkette between Jameson Ave and Close Ave is very dangerous at night.
If you see dirty needles around, don’t pick them up. Call the Parkdale Health Centre at 416-537-2455 and someone will clean it up for you. There are people on staff who do this as part of their job.
Nothing has changed in this neighbourhood since I was 13. I am 20 now and nothing has gotten better.
Where are we living? Isn’t this Toronto?
It’s important to realize there isn’t a good relationship between police and our young people and our poor people.....but we are trying to build bridges.
Maybe we should have a community clean-up and bring pride back to our community.
When I lived on MacDonell, I phoned the police late at night because someone was being badly beaten up on the street. In fact, 6 of us called. The police arrived the next morning.
You tell us these were targeted shootings but anyone could have gotten hit. What if the shooter has bad aim?
As each of my children have grown up, there has been less and less for them to do over the years. Where have all these services and programs gone?
Sometimes we feel like the police don’t care. After the shooting of my brother and sister’s friends, as soon as we got subsidized housing, my mom moved us out of Parkdale. We left. And now I come back and can’t believe I once thought all this was normal.
Even since my friend got killed last week, I am scared to death. When night comes, I get inside.
I am worried about walking from King St. to my place on Jameson. I work shift work. There are kids out at all hours. There is gambling all over the street. I was robbed and now I am scared to walk home at night.
I work with people who are street-involved, including some drug dealers. One of the main problems is there are no decent jobs for these people. We spend money on the police, on the courts, on jail but we can’t afford to pay people $15 an hour to help them get out of this lifestyle?
I am concerned about the influx of police in our area. I see random young men of colour being stopped and questioned without cause. I work with youth and many of the young men of colour say they’ve been stopped and asked for their I.D. without being detained or arrested. Why are we collecting information on young black men in our community? What options do they have of they don’t want to give any information?
Prostitutes and drug users are also members of our community. They are also mothers with children. I want us to balance our need for safety with tolerance.
We go through hell. When I come home at 12:30 from working, I am greeted by these young guys who tell me ‘this is my turf’. They tell me they are the prince here. I tell them if they are the prince, then I am the queen! My building is a community. Parkdale is ours! We should take it back.
I’ve lived here for 37 years. But now, it’s a sin to bring up my granddaughter up in this neighbourhood the way it is now.
When I was younger, I was involved with lots of activities at the community centre. I haven’t been seeing many activities on the bulletin board lately.
I called the police and the officer was so terrible to me. I think it is because my English isn’t so good. He yelled at me and was rude. I said I would never call the police again. When my daughter calls the police, her English is very good, and she gets treated very well. I would ask the police, please, when we call, speak with us gently and be patient with us.
Maybe it’s time we had a town hall meeting with the superintendents of both police divisions and let them know what we think and what’s going on.
Maybe there should be different types of policing. Not just squad cars that come in.
Lots of our kids are hungry. Lots of our kids want something to do. We need a youth space. What about OV’s? It’s been empty for a long time. We could turn it into a youth centre or lounge.
Action that we were encouraged to take:
Join the Parkdale Community Crisis Response and Recovery Network mailing list and find out about any upcoming meetings and events:
Shirley Hepditch
416-537-0275 ext 302
shirley.hepditch@pchc.on.ca
Call the police if you witness a crime
911
If you don’t want an officer to come to your door, tell them clearly you don’t want to speak with an officer in person and they will call you back instead of coming in person.
Call the police to get involved in the Community Police Liaison Committee
416-808-2222
You can report crimes or tips anonymously at:
222-TIPS
You can find out more about your rights at:
Parkdale Community Legal Services
416-531-2411
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