It was supposed to be a safe, affordable home for Ontarians with nowhere else to go. But inside, it was horrifying.
One month ago, we went to the Ontario College of Art and Design in Scarborough to attend “My City, My Life: Creating a Home for Me,” an event for homeless and at-risk youth — but we could only find the first floor of an old student residence.
We stood before the room — an empty space, with a few beds scattered around, a television and bookshelves — where a group of young men and women learned how to build and remodel small houses.
There was no furniture, no window frames, no shelves and no doors. It was a typical university residence, made entirely of cardboard and wood.
We stood before the room — an empty space, with a few beds scattered around, a television and bookshelves — where a group of young men and women learned how to build and remodel small houses.
It was as if our presence on campus had somehow changed the lives of the residents, because for the first time in months, there was a buzz of excitement.
The residents came alive, sitting on the floor and clapping and cheering.
“We’re going to do it! We’re going to do it!” they chanted. Then, they went back to work, and spent the night sleeping on the floor while their small homes took shape in their mind’s eye.
It was the perfect escape from the streets, a house to call their own.
But two weeks later, after they had finished the houses, it was clear these people were not homeless, or in a homeless shelter, but in the wrong place at the wrong time.
When word spread that the Ontario College of Art and Design is a safe and welcoming environment for homeless and at-risk youth, the residents were thrown out, and told they would never get the apartments they had built.
An Ontario college has been caught violating rules, possibly endangering lives
They were given no other option. The university told us everything about the project would be on the condition we remove ourselves from the facility immediately, and we found ourselves without a home to go to when our lease was up.
It was a nightmare.
We were told we had done something