Maybe I’ll See Raymond
For years, I walked the city doing street outreach overnight—handing out socks, listening to people’s stories, always scanning the crowd for a familiar face.
As the World Grew Quiet, Inside Got Loud
Overlapping Zoom calls, fights between siblings, enraging neighbourhood pool parties—the maddening, unending sounds of a stay-at-home crisis.
Where the Pandemic Hit Hardest
COVID has amplified social issues that have long existed at Jane and Finch. It’s also revealed the resiliency of the community.
Tuesday in Allan Gardens, Where the Police Guard the Benches
With shelters crowded and drop-ins closed, the police and the homeless play a strange game of cat and mouse.
How it Feels to Be “Revitalized”
A revitalization project promises to transform this public housing community into a mixed-income neighbourhood. But meeting the needs of existing residents while appealing to affluent newcomers is a difficult balance.
A Park for All, or a Park for Some?
How a small group of parks and rec staff called "parks ambassadors" became unlikely mediators in the growing battles over the city’s public space.
Mapping Our Divisions
A bird’s-eye view of Toronto in 2019 reveals a city where geography is destiny and a person’s postal code can be as telling as their medical chart.
My Home, Moss Park
Life in a neighbourhood where death comes too often and too early.
How We Eat Now
A quiet dinner while watching Netflix. A sit-down meal with a chosen family. Portraits of dinnertime across the city.
The Roma of Flemingdon Park
Jen Quinlan was just trying to get Roma kids to the dentist. She ended up picking a fight with one of Canada’s richest real estate companies.
Young, Pregnant, No Fixed Address
Lack of affordable housing can have devastating and long-lasting health effects for teenage parents and their children.
Cooking in the Shelter
I have cooked in restaurant kitchens, and for newspaper readers. Working at a shelter taught me a new way to look at food.
Aging in the Vertical City
In many Toronto highrises, nearly half the residents are seniors. The way we age in this city is changing — can services keep up?
Unsung Heroes: Victor from Maintenance
Victor fixes ruptured pipes and broken heaters. But to those living in supportive housing he’s part therapist, friend, and support worker.
Local Voices: A Bitter Winter on the Streets of Parkdale
Anna refused to leave the streets for a shelter. As temperatures plunged, I got worried. Then someone stepped in with an unusual solution.
The Kids of Condoland
A baby boom’s coming to Toronto’s high-rise communities, but are they built for healthy family life?
No Rooms Available
As Parkdale’s affordable housing crisis turns into a public health crisis, a community organization decides to take over a rooming house.
Treating Toby Nicol
One percent of the population accounts for a third of health care spending. Can a program for some of Toronto’s neediest change that?
When a Bedbug Problem Snowballs into an Emergency
A simple household nuisance reveals the cracks within our support system for Toronto seniors.
The Flip Side of Revitalization
What happens to the health of the people left behind?