City to consider opening more warming centres for unhoused people when extreme cold hits again

CBC.ca
Jan. 13, 2022

City officials say they will consider opening more warming centres than usual for unhoused people this weekend when extreme cold is expected in Toronto again.

"We are looking at options to have some more space," Toronto Mayor John Tory told reporters on Wednesday at a city hall news briefing.

"We are looking at this every single day. We will take whatever measures we have to take to provide for the safety of the people in question."

The city opens four warming centres during extremely cold winter weather that offer a warm indoor place to rest, snacks, washrooms and referrals to emergency shelter.

Members of the Shelter and Housing Justice Network, which includes homeless advocates, shelter providers, health-care professionals, legal workers, faith leaders and researchers, are calling for four additional warming centres.

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When temperatures reach -15 C or colder, or when the wind chill is forecast to reach - 20 or colder, the city's medical officer of health issues an extreme cold weather alert and local services, including the warming centres, are activated.

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Gord Tanner, interim general manager of the city's Shelter Support and Housing Administration, said at the news conference that the city is aware that there is a need for more warming centres.

"Certainly, we are continuing to explore options to open some additional capacity," Tanner said. "Looking forward to the weekend, I'm hoping we'll add some additional capacity just to make sure that everyone has a warm place to go."

Tanner said there are 165 spaces at its warming centres, and as part of its 2021-2022 winter services plan, the city has opened 325 new indoor spaces.

The situation is particularly acute because 46 homeless shelters in the city are experiencing COVID-19 outbreaks, according to the city of Toronto's pandemic data dashboard as of Wednesday. There are 345 active cases among shelter residents and one person is hospitalized.

Homeless advocates have said it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to find a bed in a shelter these days. Advocates have tried without success to find shelter beds for unhoused people this week.

"The combination of shelter outbreaks and the lack of indoor warm spaces means that so many vulnerable people are left outside," Lorraine Lam, an outreach worker with Sanctuary Ministries of Toronto, said in a Facebook post on Tuesday.

In his opening remarks at the news conference, Tory said the city is monitoring the spread of COVID-19 in shelters closely.

"Throughout the pandemic, the City of Toronto has prioritized the health and safety of people experiencing homelessness, living in shelters and outdoor settings, and will continue to do so, especially now in light of the Omicron variant," Tory said.

"We have seen the speed at which this variant can spread and one of the places that I am most concerned about and most focused on having daily updates is the shelter system."

The mayor said front-line staff are working hard to ensure the stability of the shelter system but advocates for the homeless have said they think the shelter system has collapsed.

"The best defence to maintaining a safe environment within shelters and the broader community, ensuring as many people as possible within the shelter system are fully vaccinated -- that is the best defence against the threat posed by Omicron and virus itself," Tory said.

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Tory said there are 154 COVID-19 vaccination clinics scheduled for unhoused people this month. Toronto Public Health mobile vaccine clinics are being held in shelters, 24-hour respite centres and 24-hour women's drop-in centres seven days a week, he said.

Tory added said the city has a "number of initiatives" underway to increase vaccine uptake among shelter residents. He noted that shelters are deemed an essential service.

Since May 7, 2021, the city has administered more than 12,400 doses at 871 shelters and drop-in centres. Inner City Health Associates, for its part, has administered another 3,226 doses in that time.

According to the city's Daily Shelter and Overnight Service Usage webpage, a total of 7,476 people used the city's shelter system on Tuesday night.