If not the Greenbelt, where will these asylum seekers live?

Plus, a heritage home's demolition by neglect and Ontario's opioid epidemic [The Star] First Up [By Kevin Jiang] By Kevin Jiang Good morning. Here’s the latest on housing disputes on the Greenbelt, the neglect of a Toronto heritage home and the faces of Ontario’s opioid epidemic. DON’T MISS R.J. Johnston/The Star housing [This church is housing asylum seekers on the Greenbelt — the region wants them to stop]( Joseph Nwaeze is currently living in the top bunk of a 60-foot trailer shared with at least a dozen other men. It’s not what the 25-year-old imagined his new home would look like after fleeing Nigeria last October, but the makeshift shelter — one of four on a sprawling Greenbelt property owned by evangelical church Miracle Arena for All Nations — is better than the alternative. “If I didn’t find this place, I’d be sleeping maybe in the street,” Nwaeze said. Now, he and dozens of others are caught up in a dispute between the church and local officials over bylaw infractions, Noor Javed and Emily Fagan report. [Here’s how the asylum seekers are living and what they’re up against](. - Context: Local officials say the shelters on the protected Greenbelt land are breaking numerous bylaws and provincial regulations. But the church says it’s providing a haven for those with few other housing options. - More: Miracle Church says it depends on the donations of parishioners to sustain its shelters but has still “accumulated debt.” They’re not the first — in December, [two Toronto churches had to close their refugee shelters over mounting debt and dwindling government support](. Andrew Francis Wallace/The Star toronto [Is this heritage house a victim of “demolition by neglect”?]( When Adam Wynne was evicted from his home of two and a half years in 2017, he was told it was because of imminent redevelopment. But the site — a designated heritage property at 15 Glen Morris St. — was passed to another developer that has done very little in the ensuing seven years. “This is demolition by deterioration or demolition by neglect,” Wynne tells the Star’s Raju Mudhar. CoStone Group, the building’s current owner, revealed plans in 2020 to build an eight-story addition to the back of the house, while keeping the facade. But neighbours and heritage advocates say the company is letting the building fall apart. [Why is this happening?]( - Word from the city: Toronto says bylaw officers have issued at least 10 orders regarding maintenance and upkeep on the property since 2017, but little action was taken. Now, it says it’s stepping up enforcement, “which may include laying charges (fines).” - Word from the developer: CoStone group says it’s not purposefully neglecting the property, telling the Star: “We are going through the process of a Heritage Impact Assessment report that we have to present to the city, but we have to do it in a way that’s feasible for us, and (satisfies) the city.” - The Star’s take: Toronto has 4,000 listed but not designated properties on its heritage register. If these sites aren’t granted heritage status after two years, they could face the wrecking ball — [adding to the city’s sad track record of neglecting our past](. Steve Russell/The Star opioid crisis [Ontario is in the midst of a drug crisis. Take a look at who’s being hit hardest]( After years in the throes of a drug toxicity crisis, a new study is offering a glimpse at the faces of Ontario’s overdose victims. Among the findings highlighted is the disproportionate impact of opioid overdoses on the province’s Black, Asian and Latin American populations — as well as gaps in access to crucial treatment and harm reduction services. “This is some of the first race-based data around the overdose crisis” in Canada, experts told the Star’s Kenyon Wallace. “... We need this kind of information in order to properly tailor interventions to address the overdose crisis. This is crucial.” [These graphics illustrate the scope of the problem and the report’s key findings](. - What we know: It’s no secret that thousands of young people have lost their lives in Canada’s opioid crisis — but older adults are the demographic taking the most prescribed narcotics. [Here’s why seniors’ addiction and overuse of painkillers is being called the “silent epidemic.”]( - On the ground: In February, the city of Belleville was swallowed by the drug toxicity crisis, with 17 overdoses reported in 24 hours prompting the mayor to declare a state of emergency. [Take a closer look at the community in crisis](. [Calendar icon] Are our messages a little late for you lately? Emails from the Star are taking longer than normal to arrive to Gmail and Hotmail inboxes after we send them. That's a problem we're solving now, but we're sorry for keeping you waiting. WHAT ELSE Several people were arrested at a pro-Palestine protest Saturday [as some allege excessive force by Toronto police](. Who you gonna call? [Why wealthy Torontonians are relying on private security to stop auto theft](. “You can’t actually repair your credit.” [Here’s how to build up your credit score](. Avoiding shrinkflation is difficult, [but these shoppers have a few tips](. “It shut all the joy down.” [Menopause can take a serious toll on mental health but many women don’t see it coming](. Young children are facing an epidemic of vision loss, experts say. [What’s behind the surge in myopia?]( A Markham man now holds the world record as the [oldest kidney transplant recipient](. New York made Donald Trump. [Now, it may break him](. How Toronto housing developers are [building a new spin on the “company town” in Prince Edward County](. Gmail revolutionized email 20 years ago. [Here’s why people thought it was Google’s April Fool’s Day joke](. Auston Matthews is only part of the NHL’s offensive renaissance — [an awfully big part, though](. [Justin Turner homered and drove in four runs]( as the Blue Jays beat the Rays 9-2. POV Toronto Star Photo Illustration [Is Doug Ford a conservative? What about Pierre Poilievre? What does it even mean to be a conservative in Canada these days?]( CLOSE-UP R.J. Johnston/The Star BAYCREST: In her 100th year, Ruth Penner started reading again. Her love of literature had diminished in the time she spent alone in a downtown Toronto retirement home, Moira Welsh reports. But Ruth began to change when she moved into Baycrest’s memory-care unit — [here’s how](. Thank you for reading. You can reach me and the First Up team at [firstup@thestar.ca](mailto:firstup@thestar.ca?source=newsletter&utm_source=ts_nl&utm_medium=emailutm_email=6C53B63A8E3FAD70AD4EF13004527437&utm_campaign=frst_211448). I’ll see you back here tomorrow. If you're not enjoying these emails, please tell us how we can make them better by emailing newsletterfeedback@thestar.ca. Or, if you'd prefer, you can unsubscribe from this newsletter by clicking the first link below. 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