Toronto YC Condos -- Yonge at College | 198.42m | 62s | Canderel | Graziani + Corazza

There sure are a hell of a lot of people walking along Yonge and patronizing all the various businesses and restaurants at 7pm on a Tuesday night considering how the street is such a miserable, dangerous hellhole that "looks like shit"!
 
I walk Yonge Street all the time and I never see anything too crazy or violent, even late at night. What I do see, is that there are a lot of people who look physically and mentally ill on the street and the numbers seem to be rising. I have seen some very scary looking people who appear to be close to death and I find it disturbing. I just can't walk by and have it not effect me, like so many others seem to do. I saw one young Indian girl who looked like she just walked out of a concentration camp. I'm sure she is mentally ill and very close to death and yet, the city seems to do nothing to help these people. That's the issue I have with Yonge Street and the city.

How can you walk by someone who is seriously Ill, physically close to death and just ignore what is happening on our streets? I can't, it always effects me and makes me lose faith in the city. I get that feeling a lot lately walking down Yonge Street. I hope as the street becomes more upscale, people will demand that the city do something about all the homeless and destitute. Not just move them but actually do something to help solve the problem. I wonder what tourists think when they see all the beggars, homeless, mentally ill and physically sick, laying on Yonge Street.

I saw a disabled, old man, sleeping beside Dundas Square at around midnight recently, with his wheelchair beside his sleeping body. How much worse can it get than that? It was a completely pathetic sight that I filmed but I'm not sure what to do with the footage. I don't want to exploit the man but at the same time, an old, sick man in a wheelchair, sleeping on our sidewalks, is just a compelling sight and I think it needs to be exposed for the inhumanity that it is. I still can't get it out of my head.

I don't at all find this a new thing, if anything I find there are less homeless than say 10 years ago, and this really isn't a Toronto thing and can be noticed in many big cities. Not that I disagree with you, but I wouldn't make it out to be a statement about Toronto, but rather many larger western City, there are so many other cities in North America I've visited that share this in common. Some actually 'hide' it by forcing them off main streets, but they're there if you're in the right place
 
I walk Yonge Street all the time and I never see anything too crazy or violent, even late at night. What I do see, is that there are a lot of people who look physically and mentally ill on the street and the numbers seem to be rising. I have seen some very scary looking people who appear to be close to death and I find it disturbing. I just can't walk by and have it not effect me, like so many others seem to do. I saw one young Indian girl who looked like she just walked out of a concentration camp. I'm sure she is mentally ill and very close to death and yet, the city seems to do nothing to help these people. That's the issue I have with Yonge Street and the city.

How can you walk by someone who is seriously Ill, physically close to death and just ignore what is happening on our streets? I can't, it always effects me and makes me lose faith in the city. I get that feeling a lot lately walking down Yonge Street. I hope as the street becomes more upscale, people will demand that the city do something about all the homeless and destitute. Not just move them but actually do something to help solve the problem. I wonder what tourists think when they see all the beggars, homeless, mentally ill and physically sick, laying on Yonge Street.

I saw a disabled, old man, sleeping beside Dundas Square at around midnight recently, with his wheelchair beside his sleeping body. How much worse can it get than that? It was a completely pathetic sight that I filmed but I'm not sure what to do with the footage. I don't want to exploit the man but at the same time, an old, sick man in a wheelchair, sleeping on our sidewalks, is just a compelling sight and I think it needs to be exposed for the inhumanity that it is. I still can't get it out of my head.
Well said. This is exactly what I was thinking, except I was in the mood to be glib and blithe rather than thoughtful and reflective.

I find walking down Yonge to be sobering, at times emotionally disturbing, and often eye-opening. I often just feel like I want to leave because I feel overwhelmed by it all. And the overarching issue is mental health. It's becoming a crisis in our society, and it's desperately sad.
 
Update from this afternoon. To pitch into the convo, I do try to avoid Yonge St as much as possible, and take the alleyways instead.

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I almost never walk down Yonge anymore. Not only does it look like shit, I'm sick of being accosted by scumbags, looking around for whether a knife fight is about to erupt, all the while stepping over people passed out on the curb. It's miserable.

Given I walk down Yonge all the time this seems like a huge exaggerating if I've ever heard one, yes there are some elements of truth to it, but I've never felt threatened, and many occasions done the walk without encountering anyone that fits your description.

The one thing that isn't an exaggeration in Miscreant's post is being accosted by scumbags. This is becoming on a ridiculous scale.

I see this summer that the NW corner of Yonge-Dundas has a new prick who tries to scream and surprise pedestrians waiting at the crosswalk.
 
I don't see it all that much walking down Yonge St. Maybe I'm just so used to it I don't notice it? I do see a lot of mentally ill all along Sherbourne. See quite a bit on Queen East of Yonge. If you take the Queen streetcar, there are many of these types on it.

It seems to be getting worse. Are we doing anything to help these people?
 
The one thing that isn't an exaggeration in Miscreant's post is being accosted by scumbags. This is becoming on a ridiculous scale.

I see this summer that the NW corner of Yonge-Dundas has a new prick who tries to scream and surprise pedestrians waiting at the crosswalk.

lol the 'jesus' guy ??? That guy has been there for years, my wife and I feel bad for him as he seems to be losing his voice, he used to be much louder ; )

Honestly, things are no different then they were 5 years ago ... I don't even mind it, and find it entertaining, and most folks I know do as well. Now there are a few exceptions, though again none are new, the one that comes to mind are some of the folks handing out "black history month" pamphlets, mind you not all, but some who essentially accuse you of being racist and can get very aggressive. There's no room for that, I hope folks report them to the police if that happens, I get aggresive back, but again mind you, many of them are completely fine too.
 
No, the Jesus guy is old and background noise now.

This person is new. He goes close to the ears of people waiting at the corner and screams in their ear.
 
lol the 'jesus' guy ??? That guy has been there for years, my wife and I feel bad for him as he seems to be losing his voice, he used to be much louder ; )
About five years ago, a friend and I were walking up Yonge on the west side, and just as we reached the north side of Dundas, Jesus Guy suddenly yelled "Jesus" at the top of his voice, right next to us. Without missing a beat, my friend yelled "Satan" right back at him. Jesus Guy looked surprised and did not respond, although at least one woman standing nearby laughed out loud.
 
I still have no idea what you're talking about half the time, even if I partially understand the references you use. That said, I appreciate your enthusiasm and your pictures. :)
 
Yonge street puts full humanity on show, excepting the upper 1% perhaps. It's changing though: I've been in this area from childhood, and I think it's far less gritty and fully human than a decade ago. The increase in new residents will only put more pressure on: people reporting crime or people in distress forces public services to engage more. Each condo has a security guard or concierge, and these people do a fair bit to secure their building and surrounding sidewalks.
 

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