For Youth Initiative

 

York South-Weston

 

Weston Road near Lawrence Avenue West, 1963, City of Toronto Archives

 

York South-Weston is a vibrant community, rich in history and diversity. However, like many neighbourhoods along the fringes of Toronto, it has its challenges. York South-Weston was once an industrial centre where blue collar workers and their families settled around the factories that employed them. But as automation replaced labour and manufacturing went overseas, the factories that many families depended upon closed down. As a result, unemployment soared and local businesses shuttered their doors. The area now bears little resemblance to the thriving, self-sustaining community it once was.

 

Today, York South-Weston comprises 6 neighborhoods that the City of Toronto has identified as neighborhood improvement areas, communities where funding and social services are needed to address significant social and economic issues. Due to its low cost of living, many single parent and working class families have made York South-Weston their home. In fact, almost a third of households are single parent homes, compared to 1 in 5 in Toronto. York South-Weston has the lowest household income in the Greater Toronto Area. In this diverse community, residents hail from the Caribbean, South America, Europe, South Asia, Southeast Asia and the horn of Africa. Of the nearly 115,000 people living in York South-Weston, over a quarter live under the poverty line. Of children (defined as under the age of 18), 2 in 5 live in poverty.

 

The population of York South-Weston is young. Many teenagers and young adults live, learn and play here. Their attempts to establish themselves as they transition to adulthood are often frustrated by the barriers that persist in the area. Meagre local employment, few youth spaces and an isolated location disconnected from transit, jobs and post-secondary campuses oft