In today’s episode,  Dimitrije Martinovic interviews David Saad a Moss Park resident,  about his controversial step to take matters into his own hands and raises funds to hire a private security company to patrol the streets in his neigbourhood.

David Saad, is a father of two residing in a house located in the Seaton and Dundas Street area, and he is leading a fight to make his neighbourhood safer.  David and his neighbours have started a GoFundMe campaign, to raise the funds needed to hire security guards to nightly patrol five streets (Seaton, Ontario, Milan, Berkeley and Poulette) from Dundas to Queen street. The area is a mixture of low-income housing, rooming houses, retail and commercial properties and expensive residential homes. The area is also home to a vulnerable population of homeless persons, and drug and opioid users as well as a number of supportive services.

David labels himself and many of his neighbours as progressives who are coming from a place of kindness and compassion. David strongly believes that a guaranteed Universal Basic Income, in which everyone receives a liveable income, could help.  

David argues that the problem is drugs and sex trafficking, intoxication, the assaults and the break and entering in the area. Even so, David admits that the issues are complex and that there are no easy solutions to either poverty, or those that engage in criminal activities as a survival strategy.

According to the GoFundMe page, the private security guards costs $206.00 a night and the group hopes to raise $75,000.  Despite David’s well intentions, one can’t help think that perhaps this money could be used more effectively elsewhere - towards substance abuse prevention, a poverty action group or providing food security to the marginalize. But as David says, the issues are complex.