Bradshaw Drive street party filled with hope, healing and heartache

Thursday evening’s street party on Bradshaw Drive in Stratford was billed as a night of hope and healing for residents still reeling from an August shooting that left one victim dead and two critically injured.

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But there’s also lingering heartache that may never disappear.

“It’s really nice to see everyone come together and try to make everything safer for everyone living in the area,” Stephanie Irvine said. “I still don’t feel safe.”

Irvine recently underwent a third surgery on her right arm after being struck during a shooting spree that took the life of her partner, Jonathan Bennett. David Tokley, who wasn’t there Thursday, continues to recover after being shot in the head by Ricky Bilcke, who ended the traumatic ordeal by turning the gun on himself.

Irvine and her two daughters are renting a room in Waterloo. There’s no financial support to be rehoused, she said, but there’s also little interest in returning to Bradshaw Drive after what happened nine weeks ago. She promised legal action against those who lived with Bilcke, as well as Stratford police, and called her partner’s death preventable.

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“Jonathan would have been alive, and my daughter would have had her dad,” she said.

Jeanette Dagger moved to the street from Toronto in May 2023 and said Thursday’s event, which featured food trucks, live music and a bouncy castle, was a way to meet neighbors she didn’t know.

“It’s lovely,” she said. “I really appreciate it, and it’s a great effort to bring everyone together.”

Dagger also expressed concern with the “surprising” amount of crime in the surrounding area since making the move. Her adult son, who stayed at the house twice a week, was “devastated” after witnessing some of the shooting, she said.

“It was a huge surprise. We knew there were problems because the police had been called a number of times.”

Alaina Stewart doesn’t live on the street, but the Stratford woman made the drive across town with her husband and three young children.

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“We love being able to support and help, especially in a time of hurt and a time of need,” she said. “That needs to happen.”

The Stratford Council of Churches hosted the event attended by Mayor Martin Ritsma and Stratford Police Service Chief Greg Skinner.

“Neighbors need time to receive something like this,” Ritsma said. “To bring this together, I think it’s important for our community but it’s also important for this street. We can look forward, but I think people from other communities understand and appreciate what we’re doing as a community to help with the journey. It’s a long journey and I’m meeting people I’ve never met… so that’s important for all of us to know more than who (Bradshaw Drive residents) are but what they represent.”

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