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Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Tent encampments on the rise in Toronto, appearing in places not seen before: city
The number of tents set up by unhoused people in Toronto is rising and encampments are appearing in parks and ravines outside of downtown where they haven't been seen before, a senior city official says. "We're seeing homelessness in places we haven't traditionally seen it. That's outside of the downtown core in communities right across this city," Gordon Tanner, general manager of Toronto Shelter and Support Services, told CBC Radio's Metro Morning on Monday. "This is fundamentally an affordability issue." In a letter to council that answered a councillor's administrative inquiry, the city said there were 283 encampments in Toronto on March 14. Data released last year shows there were 202 encampments on March 15, 2024. The city defines one tent as an encampment. With Toronto experiencing a continued housing and homelessness crisis, Tanner said the growing number of tents is a sign that people are unable to access affordable and supportive housing. He said the city needs more housing to bring people indoors. "People, when they don't have a place to go, rely on their own means and sometimes that means putting up a tent and being in a public place like a park," he said. Gordon Tanner, general manager of Toronto Shelter and Support Services, says: 'People, when they don't have a place to go, rely on their own means and sometimes that means putting up a tent and being in a public place like a park.' (Evan Mitsui/CBC) Tanner said the city is taking action to find housing for people in encampments. He said it has a 10-year capital plan to build 20 new shelters in Toronto, a plan was brought to council last summer, he said. The first shelter as part of that plan is expected to open in 2027. As well, he said the city has teams of staff on the ground, working with unhoused people, offering them access to support services, "treating them with dignity, empathy and compassion" and trying to get them into housing as quickly as possible. Staff members are also connecting with unhoused people on public transit, he said. "In the meantime, during this housing situation we're in, we continue to see the growth of encampments all across the city," he said. 'Homelessness doesn't discriminate' Tanner said unhoused people living in parks, ravines and secluded areas, such as parts of the Don Valley, isn't new. He added it happens more in the summer when the weather is warmer and he said sometimes people set up tents in secluded areas because they want to be away from busy downtown parks. "We're seeing more of it in different parts of the city," he said. Tanner said there are no areas of Toronto that don't have unhoused people. "I think homelessness doesn't discriminate. Anyone and everyone could experience homelessness with a missed pay cheque or other challenging situation in their life. These issues happen right across the city." Garbage left behind where an encampment was in the woods in Scarborough. (Muriel Draaisma/CBC) Elise von Scheel, spokesperson for the city, said in an email on Monday that recent federal funding will enable Toronto to expand its street outreach teams who help people living outside. "The best outcomes for vulnerable individuals and surrounding communities come from bringing people indoors where social, housing and health services are available. The city remains committed to providing that help to as many people as possible," von Scheel said. According to the city, outreach staff referred about 1,078 people living outside into the shelter system last year. Of this number, 848 people were from encampments. Rise in tent encampments not surprising, advocate says Greg Cook, an outreach worker at Sanctuary Toronto, said the rise in the number of encampments is not surprising given rising rents, the lack of rent control on new units, number of evictions, wages and income that are too low relative to high cost of living in Toronto and the lack of available shelter spaces. In February alone, he said city data shows that an average of 101 people nightly were turned away from the city's shelter system. Greg Cook, an outreach worker at Sanctuary Toronto, said the rise in the number of encampments is not surprising given rising rents, incomes that are too low relative to high cost of living in Toronto and the lack of available shelter spaces. (Grant Linton/CBC) Cook said encampments are also appearing in areas where they haven't previously because the city has cleared larger encampments. Clearing displaces people and scatters them away from services, he said. "When you clear large encampments, people are just going to be more isolated and more spread out," he said. According to the city's own data, 10,241 people used the city's shelter system last Thursday and there were 11,721 "actively homeless" people in Toronto in the last three months.
CBC
15-04-2025
- General
- CBC
Tent encampments on the rise in Toronto, appearing in places not seen before: city
Social Sharing The number of tents set up by unhoused people in Toronto is rising and encampments are appearing in parks and ravines outside of downtown where they haven't been seen before, a senior city official says. "We're seeing homelessness in places we haven't traditionally seen it. That's outside of the downtown core in communities right across this city," Gordon Tanner, general manager of Toronto Shelter and Support Services, told CBC Radio's Metro Morning on Monday. "This is fundamentally an affordability issue." In a letter to council that answered a councillor's administrative inquiry, the city said there were 283 encampments in Toronto on March 14. Data released last year shows there were 202 encampments on March 15, 2024. The city defines one tent as an encampment. With Toronto experiencing a continued housing and homelessness crisis, Tanner said the growing number of tents is a sign that people are unable to access affordable and supportive housing. He said the city needs more housing to bring people indoors. "People, when they don't have a place to go, rely on their own means and sometimes that means putting up a tent and being in a public place like a park," he said. Tanner said the city is taking action to find housing for people in encampments. He said it has a 10-year capital plan to build 20 new shelters in Toronto, a plan was brought to council last summer, he said. The first shelter as part of that plan is expected to open in 2027. As well, he said the city has teams of staff on the ground, working with unhoused people, offering them access to support services, "treating them with dignity, empathy and compassion" and trying to get them into housing as quickly as possible. Staff members are also connecting with unhoused people on public transit, he said. "In the meantime, during this housing situation we're in, we continue to see the growth of encampments all across the city," he said. 'Homelessness doesn't discriminate' Tanner said unhoused people living in parks, ravines and secluded areas, such as parts of the Don Valley, isn't new. He added it happens more in the summer when the weather is warmer and he said sometimes people set up tents in secluded areas because they want to be away from busy downtown parks. "We're seeing more of it in different parts of the city," he said. Tanner said there are no areas of Toronto that don't have unhoused people. "I think homelessness doesn't discriminate. Anyone and everyone could experience homelessness with a missed pay cheque or other challenging situation in their life. These issues happen right across the city." Elise von Scheel, spokesperson for the city, said in an email on Monday that recent federal funding will enable Toronto to expand its street outreach teams who help people living outside. "The best outcomes for vulnerable individuals and surrounding communities come from bringing people indoors where social, housing and health services are available. The city remains committed to providing that help to as many people as possible," von Scheel said. According to the city, outreach staff referred about 1,078 people living outside into the shelter system last year. Of this number, 848 people were from encampments. Rise in tent encampments not surprising, advocate says Greg Cook, an outreach worker at Sanctuary Toronto, said the rise in the number of encampments is not surprising given rising rents, the lack of rent control on new units, number of evictions, wages and income that are too low relative to high cost of living in Toronto and the lack of available shelter spaces. In February alone, he said city data shows that an average of 101 people nightly were turned away from the city's shelter system. Cook said encampments are also appearing in areas where they haven't previously because the city has cleared larger encampments. Clearing displaces people and scatters them away from services, he said. "When you clear large encampments, people are just going to be more isolated and more spread out," he said. According to the city's own data, 10,241 people used the city's shelter system last Thursday and there were 11,721 "actively homeless" people in Toronto in the last three months.
CBC
27-03-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Toronto city council sounds alarm on planned federal cuts to shelter funding program
Toronto council is sounding the alarm this week after a new report highlights major federal funding cuts that will hurt the city's ability to help newcomers who can find themselves relying on local shelters and other services. Gord Tanner, general manager of Toronto Shelter and Support Services, told councillors that the federal government's planned federal cuts to the Interim Housing Assistance Program (IHAP) will drop from 95 per cent this year to 75 per cent in 2026 and 50 per cent in 2027. The federal program is the main source of funding for Toronto's refugee response, and reimburses 95 per cent of the city's expenses, the city says. More than 12,000 people used the city's shelter facilities every day this winter, and 50 per cent of them were newcomers. Mayor Olivia Chow described the cuts as a "serious problem." Toronto brings in the most immigrants anywhere in Canada, according to the city staff report. The federal funding cut means the city's ability to help those newcomers will be diminished, the new report said. The report says the federal cuts are tied to levels in the immigration levels plan, with "a funding formula accounting for past arrivals and future admissions." This situation is even more in flux with a federal election underway. "I hope that every party that is running takes this refugee housing settlement services seriously," said Chow. Chow's motions to ask the federal government not to reduce funding for refugees in shelters over the coming years, to expand the definition of asylum claimants, and to establish a refugee housing benefit were approved at council on Thursday. Council discusses ombudsman's report Also on Thursday, Ombudsman Kwame Addo presented a report, originally released in December, that found the city's decision to stop allowing refugee claimants access to its shelter beds was anti-Black racism and "poorly thought out, planned for, and communicated." In presenting the report, Addo said he was proud of it and stood by his findings. He urged council members to adopt his 14 recommendations for the city, which were previously denied by city manager Paul Johnson when the report was released. "I do not agree with the findings," Johnson wrote in a letter to Addo in December. Among the 14 recommendations made by Addo, were: a clear process for documenting and communicating eligibility changes that affect refugee claimants, training for staff on the city's own anti-Black racism analysis tool and on housing as a human right, and strengthening accountability and oversight mechanisms to ensure decisions align with the city's previously-established commitments and policies. Coun. Chris Moise thanked the ombudsman for his report findings at council on Thursday "A Black man was writing this report, writing about the experiences of Black people who have been on the street, and having to come to council to talk about this issue from a distance, that's difficult," said Moise at the council meeting. WATCH | Refugees slept on Toronto sidewalks: Refugees forced to sleep outside after arriving in Canada 2 years ago Duration 2:03 Refugees and asylum seekers say they are being forced to sleep outside because of a lack of housing and adequate shelter space in Toronto. According to city officials, up to 45 per cent of newcomers who call the shelter intake system get turned away. In November 2022, the city decided to stop allowing refugee claimants access to general shelter system beds, the ombudsman report says. Oddo said on Thursday that the city's decision to stop allowing refugee claimants access to the shelter system went against the Ontario Human Rights Code. The city's decision was publicly announced six months later in May 2023. According to the report, staff and elected officials said at the time that refugee claimants would be referred to federal supports because of a lack of funding from the province and federal government. In June 2023, CBC Toronto reported refugees were sleeping on Toronto streets after being turned away from the city's shelter system. Addo said in his report that the refugees were predominantly Black and from African countries. A month later, city council amended its policy to ensure everyone "regardless of status" was able to access the shelter system when beds were available. "It is unacceptable that people arrive in Canada and wind up on a sidewalk in the rain," said Councillor Gord Perks at council on Thursday. "It's unacceptable that the City of Toronto didn't have in place the correct tools to be able to manage that."
