Book Review: Encampment by Maggie Helwig

I love reading books set in the city I’m living in. Maybe because I’ve moved around a bit, living and working in four different cities as an adult and as an expat in three of them, such books help me see a familiar space from different perspectives, some that I may have long been curious about or even ones that are totally new to me.

After working in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taipei, I am now based in Toronto. I grew up in a suburb about two hours south of Toronto and started coming to the city with friends for the first time as an undergrad, and the place to be was Kensington Market. It’s vibrant and artistic, and full of creatives (and aspiring creatives). Now that I live in the city, I still occasionally come for the vibe as well as tacos, matcha lattes, bakeries, and more. So when I picked up Encampment by Maggie Helwig—a book set right in Kensington Market, at St. Stephen-in-the-Fields Church—I was super intrigued. In all my visits, I’d never noticed the church. 

Encampment isn’t about trendy businesses of course but about the housing crisis, poverty in Toronto, and what happened when, in spring 2022, the church grounds became home to a tent encampment. Helwig is the Toronto priest at St. Stephen-in-the-Fields as well as a social justice activist, and the book chronicles several years of her working to keep the encampment open as a place of refuge for those in need. 

Why This Book Matters

I borrowed this book from a colleague who oversees programs serving families, youth, and adults experiencing poverty in Regent Park and Kensington Market. Since moving to Toronto, I’ve also become friends with several people working in this space, and I feel God has given me a hunger to learn more.

Their stories—the mix of hope and hardship—echo what Maggie Helwig shares in Encampment. She captures both the desire to help and the importance of respecting each person’s dignity and choice. She also writes about the heartache of not seeing a community member for weeks, wondering if they’re still alive, and the relief of spotting a social media update months later—then sharing it with other workers who had also been worried.

For me, this book provided a window into a population I didn’t know well, right here in my own city. It gave me context for how to pray more intentionally, how to serve with humility, and how to have better conversations about poverty and housing. 

Structure of the Book

Encampment moves through chapters that blend history, personal stories, and homilies (aka sermons). Here are a few examples:

• Here: Context about homelessness in Toronto and the role of Ontario Works and ODSP.

• Wilderness: A history of the church and the community it serves.

• Plague: Stories from the COVID-19 years, with the reminder that “underneath it all we are all the same.”

• Disappearance: The painful reality of people vanishing—sometimes returning to family, but othertimes passing without recognition.

• Loss: A heartbreaking account of the “infinite litany of loss” experienced on the streets: friends, jobs, stability, even identity.

• Absence: The final chapter, describing how the encampment was cleared but also affirming that “the two years they had was not nothing” remembering the churchyard as a kind of ark, a refuge for those with nowhere else to go.

My Reflections

The writing is beautiful and often poetic, but what makes it powerful is its honesty. It helped me connect more dots between Toronto’s housing crisis and the daily experiences of people who live without stable housing. Reading it also reminded me that while no one person can solve this crisis, all of us can do something.

As Christians, we’re called to serve people in need.

Proverbs 31:9 says, “Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.” 

Overall, I think Encampment will help all readers pray more specifically about vulnerable communities, lament with God when things seen frustrating even hopeless, and ask for courage to move when he invites us to act.

Learn more about the book at Coach House Books.