REVEALED: The ‘Mayor’ of Trinity Bellwood Park’s homeless encampment

The author of the piece, Mikhail Honoridez, said that the park shelter closest to the encampment is covered in graffiti tags. Meanwhile, activity in the park from joggers, cyclists and more pass by the encampment. Leaning against the shelter is a poster of Bruce Lee and under it is written "Welcome to Bruce Lee City."

There, Honoridez met "J" whose legal name is Jeremy, but since becoming homeless he has preferred to go by J which he claims is "…the youngest of the alphabet." J is 32 and claimed to have been living in shelters and the street since his late twenties. He claimed he used to live in a suburb just outside of Toronto but became homeless after a relationship broke up.

"I got to this point in my life from a cocaine addiction. I used to have a family. I was almost married to a woman with kids. They called me dad. I messed it all up by choosing addiction over them," he tells Honoridez.

According to BlogTo “All are welcome in the encampment; no one is turned away unless they are causing problems for the others, at which point they are politely asked to leave…if a person doesn't return to their tent for five days, he considers it abandoned and cleans it up for someone else to use.”

In a statement to CP24 earlier this month, city spokesperson Brad Ross said the city has no immediate plans to clear out any encampments.

"It’s unfortunate there is a campaign like this that is circulating misinformation and unnecessarily causing homeless people undue worry," Ross said. "No encampment clearings are scheduled. We continue to offer people, on an individual basis, safe indoor space."

In the statement, the city also reiterated the dangers of makeshift shelters that have sprung up at encampments, saying they "…represent a significantly increased danger to those who use them and anyone in the vicinity if these structures were to be involved in a fire." The city said it will be adding 620 additional shelter spaces over the winter, as well as a warming centre for when there is extreme cold weather.

J told BlogTo he walks to The Meeting Place at Queen and Bathurst to do his laundry and shower, and he uses the bathroom in the Trinity Community Recreation Centre. He says that the Encampment Support Network have been "...delivering water, Gatorade, and trail mix every day, in the summer they brought us ice. We survive on lots of trail mix if we have no food."

"I do what we call 'garbage-binning'. I go to nice condos and dig. Anywhere you see a big glass building. As long as they’re not locked up underground, if their bins are outside. I'm not there to make a mess." Even though the homeless in Toronto receive an abundance of clothing donations. J claims that he distributes extra material to others who need it. "I'm the type of person that will look after my community and my area. This is a safe park and a safe space," J says.

J told Honoridez that his friend died in the Dog Bowl in the autumn of a fentanyl overdose.

J claimed to have known at least 25 people who've died from fentanyl overdoses. A friend of J's, who has been on the streets for longer, told the author a hundred. Another said thousands. J told BlogTo that he has overdosed once, but also claimed he had not used the drug many times.

"I am not a fentanyl user any more, but if I see anybody in this park that uses fentanyl, I will not criminalize them for using a drug they got addicted to," he says.

In August, the city vacated several temporary homeless shelters which were due to be cleared out for redevelopment. Neighbors cited lax security for an increase of crime in the neighbourhood caused by the hundreds of tenants.

Estimates this year claim that there are over 10,000 homeless people in Toronto. Drug Toxicity is the leading cause of death for people living on the streets of the city in 2020. Under Section 608-13 of the Toronto municipal code sleeping in a city park is prohibited as is erecting any "permanent tent, structure or shelter" without a permit.