After Blockade, Government Staff Will Return To Shelter For Pregnant Teens
Posted December 3, 2009 9:47 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Women at a Toronto centre for at-risk pregnant teens have ended their human chain that circled the building on Thursday morning.
The Service Employees International Union says it wanted to prevent government inspectors from entering the Massey Centre for Women.
The protest was sparked by a fear of funding cuts to the shelter at 1102 Broadview Ave.
The demonstration ended peacefully and government officials will return on Friday.
“It is true that times are tight,” acknowledged Jacob Leibovitch, executive director of the union.
“But the answer is not to target young women and their newborns. This centre houses our city’s most vulnerable. We must stand up for them and for those that care for them,” he added.
Leibovitch added that the centre is already forced away to turn away young women.
The Massey Centre provides temporary accommodation for teen mothers in return for mandatory high school and baby-care classes.
