Richmond Hill community comes together to address youth shelter noise

'It’s a small thing, but it’s symbolic of something bigger that our concerns have been taken seriously'

Yorkregion.com
September 17, 2018
Sheila Wang

Richmond Hill community voiced their concerns about the constant disturbance from the 360Kids youth shelter at a community meeting at the Elgin Barrow Arena on September 11.

Some 100 residents and business-owners from the neighbourhoods surrounding the youth shelter gathered at 6:30 p.m. to talk about the issues they have experienced since the 360Kids started operation at 10415 Yonge St. in 2016.

“Safety, noises, loitering, trespassing…”, written in red on a whiteboard at the meeting, were on the list of 17 issues raised by the meeting attendees.

During the one-hour-an-half discussion, representatives from 360Kids, the Regional Municipality of York, the Town of Richmond Hill council members and Mayor Dave Barrow listened and responded to the issues.

“There were some heated moments,” said Eric Wolf, the organizer of the community event, who has spearheaded the push for 360Kids to address the problems that have plagued his neighbourhood more than two years.

“I was gratified to see - for whatever reason they came - so many different people from so many different areas of the community come for this issue which is obviously important to a lot of people.”

He said people from various neighbourhoods joined the discussion at the meeting, including Stephenson Gate, Belvedere Crescent, Bedford Park, Pugsley Avenue, Dunlop Street.

The representatives of the key stakeholders have agreed to meet again at a small group to discuss the next steps, including the neighbourhood representatives, the 360Kids, the Regional Municipalities of York as well as The Town of Richmond Hill.

“We came here to listen,” said 360Kids CEO Clovis Grant. “I believe we understand now even more so how to move forward. That’s really been our aim from the beginning.”

The meeting was Wolf’s latest effort to resolve the long-standing problem in his community, following a 17-page letter that he and 37 other residents at Genesis Place sent to the 360Kids last month, as yorkregion.com previously reported.

 

Threatening legal action, the residents put forward four specific requests in the letter that need immediate attention: loud noise, trespassing, hooliganism, and the broken fence.

Wolf was glad to see the fence, which he described as a “focal point” of their complaints, has finally been fixed three weeks after he sent out the letter.

“It’s a small thing, but it’s symbolic of something bigger that our concerns have been taken seriously.”

Wolf said youth had been “slipping through” the crack between the stretched gap between the metal and wooden fence to “engage in the illicit activities” on the property of Genesis Place.

The next step, Grant said, 360Kids is taking down the gazebo in mid-September at the 360Kids square which has become a frequent gathering ground for youth at night.

“I think a positive solution can be reached and it’s just a lot of work to do,” Wolf said after the meeting. “That strengthened my belief and strengthened the community.”

“Not enough,” said Robert Foley, a Genesis Place superintendent at 41 Crosby Ave. for 19 years.

Foley has experienced the disturbance from shelter kids firsthand for more than two years, and he said what 360Kids needs to do is have better control of the youth.

The superintendent said he was worried that things could get even worse when marijuana becomes legal in Canada on Oct. 17.

“All we’re asking for is peace and quiet, and we don’t want drugs on our property,” Foley said.

Alicia Virginillo, Wolf’s girlfriend who helped organize the event, said she didn’t think a solution is on the horizon yet. “I think there is a lot of sugar-coating, a lot of sweet talking going on.”

Yorkregion.com reached out to the Regional Municipality of York and received a statement from Katherine Chislett, Commissioner of Community and Health Services of York Region.

She said, "the Regional Municipality of York and Housing York Inc. (HYI) continue to work with 360Kids and the community to address complaints by neighbouring residents against visitors and youth at 10415 Yonge Street (the Hub). We look forward to participating in a round-table discussion in the near future with 360Kids, Genesis Place and community partners to identify possible solutions to address the complaints.”