Tiny mobile home removed from Toronto park after occupant gets apartment
CBC
A tiny mobile home has been removed from a downtown Toronto park after its occupant got an apartment of his own with funding from the city.
The removal comes after the city issued a trespass order to ensure it would not be reoccupied after the man moved out.
Ryan Donais, founder of Tiny Tiny Homes, a not-for-profit organization, said the small modular home was the second one to be removed from St. James Park, near King Street E. and Jarvis Street. Originally, five were in the park to give temporary relief during the winter months to unhoused people, providing a transition between tents and housing. Three units remain.
Donais said the occupant of the home being removed, whom he called Brent, has now moved into permanent housing.
"This is a super exciting day," Donas said on Tuesday after the tiny mobile home was loaded onto a tow truck on the street.
"These were always meant to be transitional. They were not meant to be permanent. They were meant to transition people into housing. Now that that's done, we're removing the unit and we can start on our next leg of the journey."
In early February, city lawyers issued a cease and desist letter to Donais, asking him to remove all of the tiny mobile homes from the park, saying the installation and occupancy of the homes was "unlawful" and interfered with the city's rights of ownership.
Donais said he is not planning to install any more tiny mobile homes in city parks and is working with the city to find housing for the remaining three occupants. He added that unhoused people need shelter in Toronto and the city clearly has a shortage of shelter beds.
"We got no problem with moving the units. But the people need places to go. So we just need to make sure that everyone has a place to go and then we're more than willing to remove the units," he said.
Donais also says he is working on a new initiative where the tiny mobile homes would be placed on private land.
"We do intend in the future to start a private location and continue the work with tiny homes. The system is much in need of additional beds. We all know there's a shortfall of beds for people to stay, so we intend to keep adding beds to the system," he said.
Each of the units costs about $10,000 in materials and has electricity, heat, running water and a bed, as well as safety features such as smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and a fire extinguisher.
In an email on Tuesday, the city said its Streets to Homes staff worked with Donais to move the man who was living in the tiny mobile home with the help of the Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit, which enables the city to help people experiencing homelessness secure permanent housing.
"Staff continue to work with the individuals who remain at St. James Park to help connect them to shelter, housing and supports," Elise von Scheel, spokesperson for the city, said in an email on Tuesday.
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