The City's shelter system is full and has no additional capacity to support people experiencing homelessness. The number of refugee claimants in the City of Toronto's shelter system has dramatically increased to 3,300 (with almost 1,200 more supported outside the shelter system), and the proportion of the refugee claimant occupancy continues to grow. Shelter, Support and Housing Administration (SSHA) projects there could be as many as 4,500 refugee claimants in the City's shelter system by the end of the year, which would equal 50 percent of the City's total shelter space. Despite over a year of discussions with our intergovernmental partners, the funds provided to date are not enough to support our shelter demands and, in fact, do not come close to covering costs already spent. This has put the City of Toronto in an ongoing financial situation that is unsustainable. The City of Toronto has already taken significant actions to address this severe crisis, including: expanding capacity by 250 beds at local hotels through a contract with Canadian Red Cross in response to MM8.29 — cost sharing with the provincial government an expansion to the Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit (COHB) for up to 1,350 households — activating the Refugee Capacity Plan to coordinate City staff, resources, and community partnerships, including new interdivisional tables and an updated DonateTO Website — and strengthening intergovernmental advocacy and regional engagement. Despite these actions, current demand for shelter space is so high that every night the City is unable to provide shelter to hundreds of people (both refugee and non-refugees) requesting a space. In response to the recent increase in refugee claimants, community churches have stepped up and made space available for recently arrived refugee claimants. This report recommends providing up to $750,000 to churches and community organizations for expenses incurred towards providing temporary shelter to refugee claimants. This recommendation is in addition to the $150,000 in emergency funding that was authorized for release to three churches last week. Through the ongoing work of staff, the City of Toronto has identified options that could immediately be actioned by the Federal government to assist refugee claimants in their critical immediate shelter and housing needs. Without the Federal contribution to the solutions identified, refugee claimants will have no place to go once they leave temporary accommodations such as the churches. Further, many of these newcomers will find themselves on the street as the City shelters are full. Increasing shelter options will require looking at opportunities outside of Toronto and as such the action on these options should be coordinated and funded by the Federal government. Moving forward on additional shelter options is especially important as we approach the winter months. Finally, it is important to contextualize this report as a response to the current crisis driven by the latest surge in refugee claimant arrivals, which impact not only Toronto, but has expanded into neighbouring municipalities and is showing signs of continued growth. The City's homelessness service system works but it is at capacity. Right now, the pressures being placed on the system far exceed anything experienced previously due to an inability to meet unprecedented demand and an increasingly disproportionate share of care required throughout the region.
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