Moss Park unsafe because of concentration of social services in area, residents say

Residents in Moss Park saythey don't feel safe in their neighbourhood anymore.

Carmine Coccimiglio says he was taking his new puppy Maxhome on Friday when a man jumped into his car and tried to steal the vehicle.Coccimigliowas driving at Queen Street East and SherbourneStreet at the time.

"Luckily, I'm able to look after myself, but children, youth, elderly, even women at night... it's completely unsafe," he told CBC Toronto.

Coccimigliosays the incident, now under Toronto police investigation,was not the first time he was a victim of crime in the area. He claims he also had a knife pulled at him, just minutes away at SherbourneStreet and DundasStreet East, and had two full water bottles thrown at him.

Now he is speaking out.

"I really felt a need that as a citizen I had a responsibility to get the word out to what is happening in the downtown core of our city," he said.

You can't walk in the streets without being accosted.- Area resident JohnDimon

Coccimiglio isn't alone. Several arearesidents say they also don't think the neighbourhood is safe anymore.

"I've lived in this area for over 50 years, and I've just seen it go downhill rapidly," area resident John Dimon told CBC Toronto. "You can't walk in the streets without being accosted. Your car can't park in the streets. Your children can't go to the schools."

Residents say the concentration of social services and the supervised injection sites ismaking the area unsafe, even for the vulnerable people they areserving.

"It's terrible. We've goteight injection sites in Toronto, five of them are clustered in one area," Dimonsaid. "I just feel that a concentration of social services in one neighbourhood is completely unsafe."

Counc. Lucy Troisi agreed, sayingthe services need to be better distributed across the city.

"It's really a disservice to those we are trying to help when we keep putting all of the social services in one block," Troisi said. "It just doesn't help the vulnerable, and it doesn't help neighbourhood safety either."

Support still remains for social services

While residents believe the Moss Park supervised injection site and shelters in the area have put a strain on the neighbourhood, Coccimiglio saidhe is still supportive of having social services available.

"This is not about we don't want these injection sites in our neighbourhood. It's not about not helping the vulnerable, it's about helping them the right way," he said.

Counc. Kristyn Wong-Tam said the Downtown East Action plan was initiated by the city in September to help improve the area.

The plan involves city crews cleaninglaneways and parks more frequently, doing more needle pickups and increasing mental health support in the area, but Wong-Tam said core issues in the area continue to be ongoingproblems for the city.

"It's not getting us to the root causes as of yet, because those are complicated matters. That is the next phase of work, which is coming," Wong-Tam said.

She notes that, while there is a disproportionate number of social services and agencies in the area,it is complex for the city to ensureindividuals get the help they need.

"It is important for us to recognize that the requirement of care for some individuals is highly complex. They are living with mental health, intergenerational trauma, life-long addictions."