In the 2022/23 Winter Services Plan, the city said it would introduce 130 new shelter beds and 100 more hotel rooms for those in the refugee-specific system.
About 500 beds will also be added to the housing system in the coming months through “safe, modest capacity increases” by reducing the separation distance between beds in the shelter system from two to 1.25 meters, the city said.
In addition to opening more shelter spaces, the city of Toronto has said so far it has plans to “activate” about 60 spaces in warming centers at Metro Hall and Scarborough Civic Center during periods of extreme cold weather.  Details of other sites will be shared publicly once confirmed.
This winter, the city said it estimates more than 400 new permanent affordable and supportive rental housing “priority for people experiencing homelessness living in emergency shelters or living outdoors” with supports will also be ready for occupancy.
In total, the City of Toronto said it estimates it will provide emergency shelter as well as new housing units to more than 9,000 people in need this winter.
The city said its Winter Services Plan could evolve as they monitor shelter demand and continue to seek “appropriate” new shelter capacity.
Additionally, on particularly cold days and nights, teams from the city’s Streets to Homes program will be dispatched to check on those living outside and encourage them to seek shelter indoors.  During the winter, the staff will also distribute blankets, sleeping bags and warm winter clothes.
On Tuesday morning, housing and anti-poverty advocates and people with lived experience will gather at city hall to call for more to be done to prevent the deaths of people experiencing homelessness this winter.
At 10 a.m., the Shelter and Housing Justice Network (SHJN) will host a public delegation to Mayor John Tory’s office to demand an end to cuts to programming and other essential services and more non-centralized shelter beds now.  At that time, they will submit a letter to both the Tory Health Board and the Toronto Health Board with nine specific demands, including halting the planned closure of shelter hotels, adding an additional 2,700 non-centralized spaces to the shelter system, immediately halting the evicting squatters, building more social housing rentals in Toronto, and putting in place stronger measures to prevent COVID-19 and other infections.

	We sent out a bulletin via email this morning.  The Allies will gather at tmr Town Hall to host a public delegation to Mayor Tory’s office to prevent winter deaths.  We have a letter that we will be submitting to both Mayor Tory and the Board of Health outlining a list of demands. [1/] pic.twitter.com/BelZaqoxDi
— Shelter and Housing Justice Network (@SHJNetwork) November 7, 2022
“Falling temperatures, rising COVID cases and an extreme shortage of shelter beds are creating a dangerous situation for the homeless.  The shelter crisis has reached dire proportions and will only get worse as the city unleashes deep cuts to shelters and other critical services,” SHJN said.
The group, in a press release, reiterated the many challenges homeless people in this city face in accessing emergency shelter.
“Every day, an average of 170 people are turned away for lack of a bed and are forced to sleep outside in the rain and cold.  Countless others have given up hope and are no longer trying to access a bed.  Recent funding cuts and shelter hotel closings will put more pressure on an already overburdened system,” they wrote.
“According to city data, 221 people experiencing homelessness died in 2021 at an average age of 45.  Unless immediate action is taken, homeless deaths will continue to rise this winter.”
Currently, Toronto’s shelter system, which is run by the city and more than 30 partner agencies, houses about 8,200 people a night.  This is more people than ever and results in shelters being full most nights.  According to the city, 1,600 more people seek shelter each night than just a year ago.
The City of Toronto said its “ultimate goal” is to help people experiencing homelessness secure permanent housing.
By the end of this year, the city said its 24-month Housing and Homelessness Response Plan for COVID-19 will have made nearly 3,000 new supportive and affordable housing “opportunities” available to residents in need, but additional investment from provincial and federal governments are always needed to build more supportive and affordable housing, as well as “ensure there is safe indoor shelter space and access to critical supports that help prevent people from becoming homeless.”
“Homelessness is a complex social issue.  It requires a strong commitment from all mandates of government, community agencies and stakeholders to work together to provide funding alongside public, social and health-related support,” Gord Tanner, director general of housing, said on Tuesday. Toronto housing support and management.  morning.
“The stress caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the opioid poisoning crisis and the critical lack of meaningful supportive and affordable housing are contributing to many people experiencing significant hardship, placing them in urgent need of shelter and support.
Tanner also said the national housing crisis, rising inflation and other economic challenges, including a lack of meaningful income support for low-income residents and people with disabilities, are adding to the pressures on the system.
“As we emerge from pandemic restrictions, the need for shelter has only increased while funding for COVID from other government orders has been reduced or ended, including continued funding for temporary emergency shelters,” he said.