Scarborough losing its only youth shelter

Second Base Youth Shelter will close in October.

Thestar.com
Sept. 7, 2015
By Laurie Monsebraaten

Scarborough’s only youth shelter is closing due to financial troubles.

The 60-bed Second Base Youth Shelter at Kennedy Rd. near Eglinton Ave. E., stopped taking new residents at the end of last month and will close Oct. 20, said board chair Sherwin Modeste.

“It was not an easy decision,” he said. “For me, I feel really bad. But I know we have done everything in our power to save it. My conscience is clear.”

Second Base, which opened in 1993, is the second largest youth shelter in the city. But it has been struggling financially for several years with variable occupancy, higher-than-average staff salaries and high energy costs due to the building’s age, Modeste said.

“It’s a combination. No one thing would save it at this point,” he said. “At the end of the day, the city doesn’t pay for empty beds.”

The shelter, which opened in 1993, needs to fill 57 beds a night to break even, but the average occupancy last year was just 42, Modeste said.

Sarah Barker of Eva’s Initiatives, which runs two youth shelters in North York as well as a transitional housing program downtown, said losing Second Base will put more pressure on agencies struggling to serve homeless youth age 16 to 26.

“Once they close, ours on Lesmill Rd. (in North York) is the next closest one. And we are already at capacity,” she said.

“You don’t want youth going to an adult shelter. The needs they have are very different,” she said.

Research shows that if agencies like Eva’s and Second Base are able to help a homeless youth find housing within two years, the likelihood of them ending up back on the streets is very low, Baker said. But if they remain homeless into adulthood, it becomes much more difficult, she said.

The city has been trying to help Second Base for the past 18 months, said a spokesman for area Councillor Berardinetti (Ward 35 Scarborough Southwest.)

“Frankly, we were as surprised as everyone when the board announced they were closing,” said Micheal Giles. “We are very concerned about this loss of service to the area.”

The city, shelter staff and community agencies are working with youth currently at the site to ensure they have proper accommodation when it closes, he added.

At Second Base on Friday, a 21-year-old who has been a resident for three weeks said the shelter is clean, the food is good and the staff are friendly.

“To hear it’s closing down just kind of shocked me,” said Patrick, who didn’t want his last name published. “I don’t want to sleep outside and have to beg people for change, or a shower, or something like that.”

Two new transitional housing programs for LGBTQ youth set to open this fall will add an additional 55 beds and should free up some space in the youth shelter system, a city spokesperson said.

“The intention is to replace the general youth beds at Second Base through a request for expressions of interest,” said Sonia Zyvatkauskas. “Funding for the service remains in the city’s shelter budget.”

The city’s shelter support and housing division funds homeless shelters based on nightly bed occupancy and had budgeted $1.38 million for Second Base this year, according to a staff report in June.

Overall, the city expects to spend almost $9.5 million this year to fund 415 beds in 10 youth homeless shelters across Toronto, including Second Base, the report said.

On an average night in Toronto, an estimated 2,000 youth are homeless, including those in shelters, couch surfing or sleeping outside.

Youth Shelters and capacity in Toronto

Covenant House Residence 94 beds

Eva's Place 32 beds

Eva's Satellite 33 beds

Horizons for Youth 35 beds

Kennedy House 23 beds

Second Base 60 beds

Turning Point 35 beds

YMCA House 45 beds

Youth Without Shelter 30 beds

YWCA - First Stop Woodlawn 22 beds

Total - 415 beds

City of Toronto