‘Very sad moment’: Toronto clears another homeless encampment, citing fire hazard

Rev. Canon Maggie Helwig stands amid structures as Toronto city workers prepare to clear the encampment at St. Stephen-in-the-Fields Church, in Toronto, on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

TORONTO — Dozens of people gathered outside a church in Toronto’s Kensington Market neighbourhood on Thursday as city staff began clearing another homeless encampment, deemed to be a fire hazard.

City vehicles were seen removing tents and other belongings from the encampment outside St. Stephen-in-the-Fields Anglican Church after about 12 residents left the site.

Toronto Fire Services said it ordered a removal of “combustible materials” and ignition sources that had accumulated at the site on Bellevue Avenue, “resulting in elevated fire and life safety risk that required immediate action.”

The city and the church say that order on Tuesday initiated the site eviction process. A final notice to remove items from the street was issued by the city on Wednesday and posted in the area.

The church’s priest, Rev. Maggie Helwig, said the notice to vacate came as a shock to many in the area and residents had just hours to gather their belongings into garbage bags and find somewhere new to go.

Helwig said many of the encampment residents have become her friends and the clearing of the site marks a “very sad moment.”

“My friends have been dispersed and I don’t even know where most of them are. It’s very sad that I have to be here to witness this, because this is my church,” she told The Canadian Press at the encampment site.

The city, which recently cleared another encampment in Dufferin Grove Park, said all residents of the Bellevue Avenue site have been offered shelter space, and seven of them accepted.

Helwig said those people reluctantly accepted the offer.

“Shelter space is not a long-term solution,” Helwig said. “People frequently fight and self-discharge within days or weeks. Very few people can stay in shelters. It’s not a particularly manageable way of living. It’s not a particularly tolerable living environment – for all the stresses and rigours of living outdoors, a lot of people find it is a better environment than a city shelter.”

Residents of the encampment are “very upset” about having to leave, Helwig said.

“It is extremely distressing. It’s just trauma layered on trauma. I’m very worried about what effect this is going to have on people’s mental health,” she said.

The church, which has been an encampment site for close to four years, hasn’t seen an eviction notice since November 2023, she added.

Cece Bellacohen, a former resident of the Dufferin Grove encampment, was among the supporters who gathered outside the church Thursday morning to show solidarity with those being evicted, whom he described as “some of the city’s most vulnerable.”

Bellacohen echoed Helwig in saying that many homeless people don’t want to go into the shelter system. He said the reason is simple: shelters can be too violent.

“I was brutally attacked four times … by residents living there,” he said, adding that one of his friends currently living in a shelter reported seeing people with weapons inside.

He said he hopes to see the city change its policies regarding encampments.

“Instead of sending the encampment office to bring shelter offers, we need help. We need homes in new places where people can go home and actually be safe. Half the time, (an encampment) is the safest option that’s available to people,” he said.

The St. Stephen-in-the-Fields church encampment was the subject of Helwig’s book, “Encampment: Resistance, Grace and an Unhoused Community.” Published earlier this year, the book details Helwig’s fight to keep the churchyard open for those who need a place to live. It was awarded the Toronto Book Award on Wednesday, less than 24 hours before the encampment was cleared.

Don Oravec, one of the award judges, was among the crowd of encampment supporters on Thursday morning. He said Helwig’s book changed his outlook on the issue and it’s important that all levels of government pitch in to provide better supports for those experiencing homelessness.

“It’s unbelievable that she gets the award on Wednesday night and this is happening Thursday morning,” he said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 16, 2025.

Cassidy McMackon, The Canadian Press