Each year, the City develops a Winter Services Plan to outline how it will serve people experiencing homelessness during the winter months. These efforts are critical to enhance safety and protect people during cold and severe weather. However, the City of Toronto is currently facing immediate and urgent financial challenges, which includes a $317 million gap for COVID-19 response funding for shelters, and a $97 million current funding requirement for shelter for refugee claimants. In the absence of federal and provincial financial support, or new revenue tools for Toronto, the City will not be able to maintain current service levels in the shelter system. On January 11, 2023, Economic and Community Development Committee directed the General Manager, Shelter, Support and Housing Administration to review policies and procedures related to the opening and operations of emergency Warming Centres and report back with recommendations on improvements that can be made. On February 7 and 8, 2023, City Council adopted Item HL1.6 and requested the General Manager, Shelter, Support and Housing Administration to report back on the feasibility of providing 24/7 drop in spaces either at City of Toronto facilities or at locations provided by community/faith-based institutions, and to include a roundtable and survey of homeless serving organizations when conducting the review of policies and procedures of emergency Warming Centres operations. This report responds to these requests and identifies a number of actions to support people experiencing homelessness who are vulnerable to illness and injury as a result of exposure to cold temperatures, including: A. Revising criteria for activating Warming Centres B. Formalizing a proactive and collaborative approach to securing properties C. Increasing housing opportunities and shelter system flow D. Enhancing partnerships and collaboration These actions are based on feedback from community partners and stakeholders, inputs from service users and staff, and advice from health experts including Toronto Public Health. Additionally, implementation of any of these actions are subject to available space, staffing and budget. The City of Toronto is committed to making homelessness rare, brief and non-recurring - but it can’t do it alone. The current situation requires urgent and coordinated action across all orders of government. New and enhanced investments in housing and health and social services are critical to support those experiencing homelessness. Concurrently, targeted upstream interventions across systems and across governments are needed to address the root causes of poverty and homelessness, including increasing access to affordable housing, income supports that reflect the current cost of living, healthcare, employment opportunities and education.
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