Moss Park unsafe because of concentration of social services in area, residents say

Residents in Moss Park say they don't feel safe in their neighbourhood anymore. 

Carmine Coccimiglio says he was taking his new puppy Max home on Friday when a man jumped into his car and tried to steal the vehicle. Coccimiglio was driving at Queen Street East and Sherbourne Street at the time.

"Luckily, I'm able to look after myself, but children, youth, elderly, even women at night... it's completely unsafe," he told CBC Toronto.

Coccimiglio says the incident, now under Toronto police investigation, was not the first time he was a victim of crime in the area. He claims he also had a knife pulled at him, just minutes away at Sherbourne Street and Dundas Street East, and had two full water bottles thrown at him.

Now he is speaking out.

"I really felt a need that as a citizen I had a responsibility to get the word out to what is happening in the downtown core of our city," he said.

You can't walk in the streets without being accosted.- Area resident John Dimon

Coccimiglio isn't alone. Several area residents say they also don't think the neighbourhood is safe anymore.

"I've lived in this area for over 50 years, and I've just seen it go downhill rapidly," area resident John Dimon told CBC Toronto. "You can't walk in the streets without being accosted. Your car can't park in the streets. Your children can't go to the schools."

Residents say the concentration of social services and the supervised injection sites is making the area unsafe, even for the vulnerable people they are serving.

"It's terrible. We've got eight injection sites in Toronto, five of them are clustered in one area," Dimon said. "I just feel that a concentration of social services in one neighbourhood is completely unsafe."

Counc. Lucy Troisi agreed, saying the services need to be better distributed across the city.

"It's really a disservice to those we are trying to help when we keep putting all of the social services in one block," Troisi said. "It just doesn't help the vulnerable, and it doesn't help neighbourhood safety either."

Support still remains for social services

While residents believe the Moss Park supervised injection site and shelters in the area have put a strain on the neighbourhood, Coccimiglio said he is still supportive of having social services available.

"This is not about — we don't want these injection sites in our neighbourhood. It's not about not helping the vulnerable, it's about helping them the right way," he said.

Counc. Kristyn Wong-Tam said the Downtown East Action plan was initiated by the city in September to help improve the area.

The plan involves city crews cleaning laneways and parks more frequently, doing more needle pickups and increasing mental health support in the area, but Wong-Tam said core issues in the area continue to be ongoing problems for the city.

"It's not getting us to the root causes as of yet, because those are complicated matters. That is the next phase of work, which is coming," Wong-Tam said.

She notes that, while there is a disproportionate number of social services and agencies in the area, it is complex for the city to ensure individuals get the help they need.

"It is important for us to recognize that the requirement of care for some individuals is highly complex. They are living with mental health, intergenerational trauma, life-long addictions."