Parkdale residents identify housing as priority issue for Toronto's next mayor

As the affordability crisis continues, some Parkdale residents are voicing concerns over the direction the west-end Toronto neighbourhood appears to be headed.

Some long-time residents told CTV News Toronto they have never seen such long line-ups outside the food bank or as many people dealing with homelessness in Parkdale.

Tyde Cambridge has lived in neighbourhood for 25 years.

“I want the next mayor to actually come to Parkdale several times in a row, at several times of the day and see with their own eyes, what is going on and then address these issue,” she said.

“They include people not having anywhere to sleep, people not having enough food, people not having anywhere to go.”

Cambridge said over the years, there’s been waves in terms of how well people are doing before, but the neighbourhood had become safe and is now becoming “unsafe again.“

“There’s a lot of homeless people that don’t have enough care, especially health care,” Seraphine Tseng, who has lived in Parkdale for three-and-a-half years, told CTV News Toronto.

To save money, Shelley Persaud grows fruits and vegetables. Parkdale has been her home for 13 years. She says the new mayor should focus on mental health and addiction.

“It bothers me a lot when they are doing drugs, they’re swearing and fighting and they don’t respect the neighbourhood,” she said.

Miranda Jones, who has a young daughter, lives in Toronto Community Housing. She says if housing costs are covered, families can more easily make up the rest because housing is often the biggest cost, which is why affordable housing is so important.

“Life costs more but for those of us where our wage hasn’t gone up, we can’t pay more for the rising housing costs,” Jones said.

Several residents told CTV News they believe the need for housing is at the centre of the issues in Parkdale. This includes a variety of new housing – including affordable housing – to meet different needs, and enough support so people can stay in their homes.