Mzwandile Poncana, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Mississauga.com

One Brampton councillor says the city is “one step closer” to relocating Regeneration Outreach from Grace United Church on Main Street North.

But the church and the outreach group say there has been little to no direct contact from the city and no clear relocation plan offered. 
Regeneration Outreach is a daytime drop-in program at Grace United Church on 156 Main St. N. that serves unhoused and low-income residents, offering meals, showers, laundry, basic supplies, and connections to health and housing supports.

In July, Brampton council passed a motion threatening legal action against Grace United Church and Regeneration Outreach if “immediate action” wasn’t taken to address what the city and nearby residents described as safety issues around 156 Main St. N.

The motion cited complaints about loitering, drug use, trespassing and disorder in the surrounding neighbourhood, and directed the city solicitor to issue a formal letter to both the church and the outreach program.

Three months later, on Oct. 20, the city solicitor sent a followup letter to Grace United Church and Regeneration Outreach. The letter said there had been a rise in 311 complaints, city security and bylaw service requests, and Peel Regional Police calls tied to the Main Street property and the surrounding area.

“Chronic, illegal and inappropriate behaviour in a residential community must cease,” the letter said. “That responsibility lies with Grace United Church and Regeneration Outreach.”

Coun. Rowena Santos shared the letter on her website on Oct. 20, with an accompanying post titled: “City of Brampton Moves One Step Closer to Relocating Regeneration Outreach Services.”

In it, Santos said city staff and council have been working with the Region of Peel for more than a year on a long-term solution that includes relocating Regeneration Outreach from 156 Main St. N.

She said the goal is to protect “safety and liveability” in the surrounding community while continuing to support vulnerable residents.

“Compassion and accountability must go hand in hand,” Santos wrote. “Brampton is a caring city. We can protect our most vulnerable residents and our neighbourhoods.”

No direct contact

In contrast to Santos’ post, Regeneration Outreach said it has had almost no direct contact from the city and no collaboration on a potential relocation.

Regeneration CEO Ted Brown said there was only one call with city officials in September and “no followup since.” He said no relocation options have been presented, nor has the city offered logistical or financial support toward moving.

Brown said Regeneration remains in its current space under a lease with Grace United Church that runs until 2027.

He added that even if Regeneration were asked to leave 156 Main St. N., the agency could not move immediately. He said there is currently no city- or region-owned building with the kind of kitchen and program space Regeneration needs, and any new site would have to be renovated before they could operate — a process he estimated would take months.

Brown also pushed back on how the city has characterized Regeneration’s role in what happens around the Main Street property.

“There are some things in that letter that are simply not true about who we are as an organization,” Brown said.

Brown said the city’s Oct. 20 correspondence — and the way the situation is being described publicly — suggests Regeneration is responsible for “criminal activity” in the neighbourhood, including drug use, theft and other unsafe behaviour.

He said Regeneration does not condone illegal activity, does not distribute drug supplies and does not control the behaviour of people in the area outside its operating hours.

“If people drink or use drugs on the property and they’re caught, they are asked to not come back for a week. There are consequences,” said Brown. 

He also said Regeneration is being blamed for “every 311 call and every police call” tied to 156 Main St. N., without clarity on how those calls are counted or how many happened after hours. Regeneration typically runs 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays, with shorter hours on weekends.

Brown said he has filed a Freedom of Information request seeking a breakdown of those calls to see how many can be attributed to Regeneration. 

‘No concrete action’

Grace United Church says while it has heard promises from the city about helping Regeneration move, it has not seen that turn into anything practical.

Chris Moon, chair of Grace United Church’s trustee board, said Mayor Patrick Brown once verbally offered support to Regeneration in finding another location and to assist Grace United Church when that happens.

“This is a welcome offer, but there has been no concrete action for many months,” said Moon.

However, Moon said relocation would be a long-term solution that does nothing to meet the current concerns of the community and the church. 

Regarding the city’s Oct. 20 followup letter, Moon called it “deeply disappointing.”

“Rather than taking steps to address the needs of Brampton‘s poorest and most marginalized residents, the city has chosen to threaten legal action against the two charities that have stepped forward to do so,” he said.

Following the initial July 25 letter, the church said subsequent discussions with the city led to increased on-site security. That included hiring guards to remove loiterers and trespassers during hours when Regeneration is closed.

However, they say this has been costly and the church has now exhausted its resources, leading to limited hours of security coverage. They are currently seeking grants to increase security procedures. 

Furthermore, while a garbage sweep is conducted four times a day to clear litter left behind by Regeneration guests and trespassers, Moon says keeping ahead of it is challenging — particularly with the number of takeout containers originating from a nearby store.

The church says that they are just as — if not more — troubled as the neighbours by the litter and the trespassers. 

“To help address the problem, we offered to collaborate with the city by making space available for an afternoon-evening drop-in program,” said Moon. “But there has been no uptake on this by the city.”

Ongoing negotiations

The Brampton Guardian asked the City of Brampton to respond to Brown’s claims that there has been only one call with city officials in September and “no followup since,” that no relocation site has been presented by the city, and that no logistical or financial support toward moving has been offered. The City of Brampton did not answer those questions prior to publication.

These questions were also put to Santos, including two direct yes-or-no questions: whether the city has had any meetings, calls or site walk-throughs with Regeneration about relocation since July 25, and whether the city has offered any relocation-related support.

Brampton Wards 1 and 5 Coun. Rowena Santos.

Santos declined to provide those specifics, saying the matter is being addressed through ongoing negotiations with the Region of Peel, which she described as the main funder of Regeneration and the level of government responsible for housing, homelessness, mental health and addictions.

The councillor was also asked about public claims of progress, specifically her website post: “City of Brampton Moves One Step Closer to Relocating Regeneration Outreach Services.”

Santos was asked what specific action made the city “one step closer,” and whether a prospective new site, timeline or plan was now in place. She responded: 

“The update I provided is based on the city council meeting on Oct. 15, indicating that a report is coming back related to these negotiations with the Region of Peel. The matter is one of negotiations which limits my ability to share anything further than that.”

No relocation site or timeline has been provided from either Santos or the city by publication time.

Learn more about our News Monitoring here.

---