Walking the streets in relationship with others creates a complex and personal space in my own life. After a day of walking I sit with a cold drink and realize that I am filled with emotion and fatigue. And the task of telling lies ahead. Without doing harm and hopefully while still doing good. There are layers and layers to untangle.
While we talk about the Allan Gardens occupation of 1999 a group of police cadets run past. Just after Rae has told us how the police had lined up with their riot gear on, how the area had been cordoned off, how it was just generally a bad scene. The scent of roses in full blossom are carried through the air and I close my eyes to feel the warmth of the sun.
We spent part of the day talking about photographs and part of the day taking pictures. People had been sleeping in Allan Gardens for years prior to "the occupation." The tent city had grown into existence to draw attention to the increase in homelessness and overfilled shelter space, to the fact that the homeless had resorted to sleeping on benches during the days and wandering the streets at night because there was nowhere to rest their bodies.
We wondered through this park, Allan Gardens, where some of the guys had slept, and then down the streets to look at the changes in the neighbourhood. So many barriers have been erected to prevent those without housing from sleeping in the liminal areas that they used to find. It is as if every crevice and cranny has been searched out and sewn up. What kinds of public space exist now? They are being policed - publicly and privately - and cordoned off.
We are preparing to go to the sleep out at Nathan Philips Square - June 18 - to document it. And we have to figure out how to keep us all warm and safe, and full of food. More to come on that...
