Willowdale resident Geraldine Campbell and her neighbours have a place in their hearts for the elderly residents of Cummer Lodge — and Campbell, through work with her church in Scarborough, has first-hand empathy for the plight of the homeless.
So, when she got word through her local councillor that the City of Toronto is considering building a 60-unit modular housing project to house Toronto's homeless, on what is nearly the front lawn of Cummer Lodge, she was ecstatic.
"My initial reaction was 'thank God,' — to be happy that we at least now as a city seem to be tackling this problem," said Campbell.
Campbell and her neighbours have made a point of supporting residents and staff at the city-owned Cummer Lodge long-term care home — in February, they wrote 500 Valentine’s Day cards for residents and staff.
And she said that her volunteer work at St. Timothy’s Anglican Church in Scarborough has made her “painfully aware of homelessness.”
The project at 175 Cummer Ave. is one of two that make up Phase 2 of Toronto's Modular Housing Initiative (the other is at Trenton and Cedarvale Avenues in East York), which will be coming to the March 10 meeting of Toronto's Planning and Housing Committee.
If approved, the city would start community meetings for each site in March — and would see the new housing in move — in condition by the end of 2021.
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Filion is meeting with the Willowdale Interfaith Coalition — a multi-faith group of religious leaders in the community — and is hopeful the group will buy in.
Reverend Sean Huh, who leads the Faith Church, a Protestant congregation on Olive Avenue, and who is a member of the coalition, said he at least will be putting his support behind the proposal.
“In terms of easing concern and worry and tension and that kind of thing — I would definitely, in our own church, be open to talking about it and maybe even teach in church,” he said. “I don’t think for members of our church it’ll be so shocking — it will just be another opportunity to see that we may live in our 3,000-square-foot homes in Toronto or just outside — we may have all the luxuries we could want, but there are those who are struggling. Whether it’s their fault or not, how can we help them?”
