A major crisis in Toronto has reached a critical point, with over 8,000 people experiencing being homeless every night. These individuals often find shelter in the city, while many more grapple with this, relying on the generosity of relatives, friends, or strangers with little sense of stability.
The problem is exacerbated by Toronto’s severe lack of affordable housing, with the wait being several years long, forcing families to spend over 50% of their income on housing, leaving less for necessities like food and medication.
In response, Toronto-based Richard Todd, best known as the singer/songwriter/guitarist for the band Redpath Traffic, has teamed up with WoodGreen Community Services, one of Toronto’s largest social services organizations, to address this urgent problem with creating “The Forgotten Homelessness” charity single with a cast of all-stars.
“I’m incredibly grateful for WoodGreen’s unwavering commitment to this cause,” says Todd, who is also the founder of Warm it Up!, a Toronto-based initiative dedicated to providing essential items to individuals experiencing homeless. “Our grassroots project aims to raise widespread awareness and to support WoodGreen’s UNMET Needs Campaign.”
Notably, several of Toronto’s top indie artists, including Chris Birkett, Michael Quattro, David Moses, Sarah Siddiqui, Anna Goldsmith, Luciana Santaguida, Shari Tallon, Signe Miranda, and Chattrisse Dolabaille, along with singers Esmaeel Abofakher, Rahaf Alakbani, and Osaze Dolabaille, have joined forces with Todd in this collaborative effort, highlighting how poverty has touched even the city’s artistic community.
Expressing gratitude, Teresa Vasilopoulos, Executive Director of The WoodGreen Foundation, adds, “On behalf of WoodGreen, thank you for this beautiful and uplifting song that highlights the urgent need to provide housing for the unhoused.”
