Khaleel Seivwright is a Canadian carpenter and homelessness activist known for his construction of homeless shelters.
Early life
editSievwright grew up in suburban Toronto; his parents are Jamaican immigrants.[1] After high school, he took a job as an apprentice carpenter, and learned how to frame houses.[1] In his early 20s, he lived on a British Columbia commune where he built his own tiny home shelter.[1]
Toronto homeless shelters
editIn September 2020,[2] Sievwright began building homeless shelters and placing them in parks and ravines in Toronto.[3][4] The small shelters cost about $1,000 CAD to build.[5][6] The shelters included insulation, a Vapor barrier, a carbon monoxide detector and a lock.[7]
In November 2020, the City of Toronto wrote to Sievwright, demanding that he "immediately cease the production, distribution, supply and installation" of the shelters.[5][8] A petition started by Sievwright in response to the City's letter garnered over 80,000 signatures.[7]
In January 2021, Sievwright launched a crowdfunding campaign that raised over $200,000 CAD to construct more of the shelters.[9][10]
In February 2021, the City filed an injunction to stop the construction of the shelters, which take the form of very small tiny homes.[5][10] Critics of Seivwright's shelters, including the City of Toronto, have said that the homes do not represent a long-term solution to homelessness.[11]
As of April 2021, Sievwright had built over 100 of the shelters, with a crew of 40 volunteers.[1]
Sievwright was the subject of the 2023 documentary Someone Lives Here.[12] The film won Best Canadian Documentary at the Vancouver International Film Festival.[13]
References
edit- ^ a b c d Porter, Catherine (16 April 2021). "The Carpenter Who Built Tiny Homes for Toronto's Homeless". The New York Times.
- ^ "Toronto carpenter builds $1,300 tiny shelters for homeless". youtube.com. Good Morning America.
- ^ "Toronto carpenter builds tiny wooden shelters for those experiencing homelessness". CTVNews. 29 October 2020.
- ^ "Carpenter urges Toronto to drop injunction over his tiny shelters, arguing legal costs would be better spent on housing the homeless". thestar.com. 22 February 2021.
- ^ a b c Gibson, Victoria (19 February 2021). "City of Toronto files injunction to stop carpenter from erecting wooden shelters for homeless". thestar.com.
- ^ "Project to build tiny homes for Toronto's homeless under threat". Broadview Magazine. 20 November 2020.
- ^ a b Cecco, Leyland (28 February 2021). "Why Toronto is taking action against a carpenter amid its homelessness crisis". the Guardian.
- ^ King, Angelina; Draaisma, Muriel. "City issues warning letter to Toronto carpenter building shelters for unhoused people | CBC News". CBC.
- ^ Longwell, Karen. "Toronto's tiny shelter fundraiser hits $200K goal but city still doesn't want them". www.blogto.com.
- ^ a b Casey, Liam. "Toronto seeks injunction to stop man from putting tiny shelters for the homeless in city parks | CBC News". cbc.ca.
- ^ Urback, Robyn. "Opinion: Toronto's crackdown on tiny shelters is not as callous as it seems". theglobeandmail.com.
- ^ Vega, Manuela (2023-07-19). "Tiny shelter carpenter Khaleel Seivwright at centre of Hot Docs' 'Someone Lives Here'". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2024-05-25.
- ^ "VIFF announces award winners". The Georgia Straight. 2023-10-05. Retrieved 2024-05-25.