“Fear, stress”: Toronto residents pen letter to city over homeless encampment

Residents of a downtown Toronto neighbourhood are calling on the municipal government to take action when it comes to a homeless encampment located in their community. The group, comprised of more than a dozen local businesses and residences, has penned a letter to Mayor Olivia Chow and other officials. It raises a number of significant safety concerns. It’s part of a growing number of concerns being raised by communities across the country about homeless encampments, which spurred the federal housing advocate to issue a report on Tuesday, calling for a plan to end homelessness and an end to forced evictions from the encampments. “Residents are experiencing fear, stress and anxiety from this encampment,” the letter reads in part. Residents say they have witnessed a number of incidents over the past several months alone, including an alleged physical assault on a female employee from a nearby business. Global’s Shallima Maharaj has the details. For more info, please go to https://globalnews.ca/news/10290294/downtown-toronto-residents-letter-city-homeless-encampment/ Subscribe to Global News Channel HERE: http://bit.ly/20fcXDc Like Global News on Facebook HERE: http://bit.ly/255GMJQ Follow Global News on Twitter HERE: http://bit.ly/1Toz8mt Follow Global News on Instagram HERE: https://bit.ly/2QZaZIB #GlobalNews #Toronto #HousingCrisis