A town hall in Brampton has community leaders rallying for more local support in the wake of Black youth disappearing throughout the Greater Toronto Area.
In recent weeks, a disturbing pattern has emerged in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA): a number of young Black boys have gone missing under unknown circumstances. As fear and uncertainty mount, local leaders are urgently calling for a unified response from the Black community, law enforcement, and political figures to ensure the safety and well-being of their youth.
Read More
As previously reported by Now Toronto, three boys in Toronto remain missing: Malachi, Jeffrey and Makhei. Police told Now Toronto that 110 of the 200 youth between the ages of 12 and 17 reported missing in Toronto in 2024 were Black.
As of today, Peel Regional Police and Durham Regional Police Services reported that there are no missing reports for Black youth.
A Thursday evening meeting in Brampton, which marked the third town hall on the issue, only further stressed the importance of a collaborative community effort in order to tackle the growing concern.
Gwyneth Chapman, the lead of Brampton’s Black Empowerment Unit described the night as “amazing” in taking steps towards preventing more incidents like this from worsening, and emphasized the significance in treating children with the care they deserve.
“What’s happening now is that we are starting to be even a little bit more united, because we understand the importance of making sure our children are protected, our children feel loved, our children understand that they have value,” Chapman told Now Toronto at the town hall.
“And we adults need to do whatever it takes to make sure that they have opportunity, they feel safe.”
Though no root cause of the disappearances have come to light as of yet, Chapman believes youth leaving from home often goes hand-in-hand with their sense of self.
“Our young people not only have to face the work of self awareness, of self discovery, figuring out who they are, what they would like to do, but they also have to face racism,” she explained.
“I think it goes back down to how young people feel about themselves. So we, as the adults and those that are responsible for our children, which is all of us, we have to ask ourselves, truly, are we doing the best that we can? Are we giving them what it is that they need in order for them to survive, to succeed and also thrive in this very, very challenging world?”
Chapman is also calling for more effort among law enforcement and political figures for support, something needed more than ever especially due to a long-standing history of mistrust between racialized communities and authoritative figures.
“I feel that there has to be a little bit more engagement, making a little effort, or more of an effort, to reach communities where they are,” Chapman said.
“Educating communities, being more engaged, being more of a partner and making themselves available to communities, to families, to young people, just a little bit more.”
Toronto police says that missing persons cases, especially ones involving youth and vulnerable individuals, are treated with the “utmost seriousness and urgency.”
“While it is true that Black youth are reported missing more frequently than youth of other races, the rumour that many Black youths are currently unaccounted for is not true,” Toronto Police Services Communication Advisor Nadine Ramadan said in an email statement to Now Toronto earlier this month.
“Ninety-six per cent of missing persons reported to the Toronto Police are found… Even one missing youth is too many, and we are committed to locating them and ensuring their safety.”
HOW TO PREVENT THE EPIDEMIC FROM GROWING
Tragically, this crisis is not exclusive to boys. Black girls are also disappearing, some at great risk of being trafficked, exploited, or subjected to violence.
Aretha McCarthy, CEO of victim service support centre Revive, advocated the importance of updating government resources to keep young girls safe, which are currently limited.
“I think it was important for us to talk about girls, because there is no statistic in Canada that we can find, especially on Black girls,” McCarthy explained.
“There’s really no data when it comes to the Black and Indigenous community, and I feel like that’s a big problem.”
Taking steps to combat the issue, Revive offers a list of services to vulnerable individuals such as counselling, self-defence classes and parenting sessions. But McCarthy says the real work lies in parents and the community as a whole becoming more educated and aware of potential risks, digital safety, and recognizing signs of trafficking or abuse before it’s too late.
“We are all a village, and if we’re all working in silos and not collaborating and working together, then nothing’s ever going to work,” McCarthy said.
“Our kids are not just the future, they’re the futures of today. We want to ensure that as the future of today, they’re here in front of us, and they’re being successful and succeeding, and we’re supporting them, and we’re helping them.”
