Asked by Anonymous · 23 days ago
What are you planning on doing with the homeless doing drugs in Hanley Park. Every morning we walk to school and my child likes to cut through the park and almost everyday there’s needles, rolled up tin foil that had who knows what in it, crack pipes, human excrement ect. It’s unsafe for kids and pets to go there.
As a Morrison Ave. resident myself, this one is very close to home for me, literally. I have conversations with residents about what is happening in the Park (and throughout the area north to Young Street) on an almost daily basis.
I want to be very clear that needles, drug paraphernalia and human waste in a public park where children play and walk to school are unacceptable. We can have compassion for people struggling with homelessness, mental health and addiction while also expecting our public spaces to be safe for everyone, so I've already taken some action. Most recently, I arranged to have the lower limbs of the trees in the park trimmed to improve visibility and remove areas that were being used to hide or stash items.
I would like to see increased police presence and patrols in the area, better education for residents about when and how to report activity through the OPP non-emergency line, and conversations with the neighbourhood about establishing a Neighbourhood Watch or similar community-safety initiative – a committee I will be suggesting to our new Mayor for formation.
At the same time, enforcement alone won't solve addiction or homelessness. We need our outreach, mental-health, addiction and housing agencies involved so people using the park can be connected with appropriate services.