St.Stephen-In-The-Fields Church
After listening to the audio version of activist and priest Maggie Helwig’s book Encampment: Resistance, Grace, and an Unhoused Community, I reached out to the The Reverend Canon at St.Stephen-In-The-Fields Church on the edge of Kensington Market. The book is a powerful first-hand account of the stories surrounding the encampment next to the church and her desire to support people in their time of immense need. The encampment has been an ongoing point of controversy in the neighbourhood and because most of it is located on City of Toronto property, it has been met with attempts to dismantle it. Maggie, like other supporters of encampments, points to the need for proper housing for folks who need it. The sentiment I get is that we must find ways to help them however we can until people get the support that they require and deserve.
When I arrived at the church I immediately connected with Joanna Corbett who I had photographed years ago for a story by Toronto Star’s Victoria Gibson about homelessness. Joanna is currently housed but was visiting the encampment and the food bank nearby.