Brampton’s downtown is being overwhelmed by homelessness and drug use; Region promises help

“We seem to have a greater problem than we’ve had in the past, but the pandemic has seemed to increase the problems,” said Geoff Ross, the reverend at St. Andrews Presbyterian Church located on the corner of Church Street and Union Street. Ross says he has repeatedly stopped people addicted to drugs from using on his property, and confronted the sickening face of human trafficking by stepping in when pimps and johns attempt to use church property to conduct their illegal business.

“The brazenness is very clear and evident for us,” he said. “It’s just so much more out in the open because there’s much less camouflage of other things going on (as a result of the pandemic).”

A pandemic that has laid bare the region’s social ills, combined with irresponsible investment into a failing affordable housing system have created significant problems for downtown Brampton.

The Region of Peel has promised new drop-in sites for the homeless will be open by the end of the year and it has also purchased a new building it intends to convert to shelter space to help fill the wide gaps in the social support system.

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Published in The Pointer Brampton on September 29, 2020