Questions about emergency shelters

There have been surprisingly few studies on the impact of shelters on the surrounding neighbourhood. But in Toronto, it’s clear that shelters are feared before they are introduced to a community, and welcomed once they have been established. For example, when Cornerstone’s 50-bed men’s shelter closed, 700 people, including many neighbours, signed a petition supporting their bid for a new location a few blocks away. When the Red Door Family shelter was at risk of losing their location, over 51,000 people signed a petition to “save the Red Door” at its current location.

The main difference between homeless people and the rest of us is that they are visible – they don’t have homes to go to! – and they have low incomes. But just because someone dresses in old clothes, or doesn’t have ready access to a laundry machine, doesn’t mean they are dangerous.

The reality is that homeless people are ordinary members of the community.  According to Toronto’s last homeless count, 29% are over 50; about 25% are employed; 7% are veterans. Many have children. They are not people to fear.

Shelters are designed to bring homeless people off the street, not put them on it. Most shelters provide not only beds, but also areas where clients can relax, read the paper and chat.

But let’s be clear: homeless people are members of the public, and have the same rights as everyone else to enjoy public spaces. Chatting with neighbours on the sidewalk, sitting in a park, or reading the paper in a library, is not loitering. It is ordinary public life that we all have a right to enjoy.

It’s unlikely. According to Toronto’s 2013 Street Needs Assessment, fewer than 6% of homeless people are panhandling, down from 17% in 2006. Among the over 5,000 people included in the assessment, the rate of panhandling among those who live outdoors is 41%; the rate among those who stay in shelters is negligible.

Shelters are a residential use. They are a place where people stay, and benefit from the same services – transit, parks, libraries, coffee shops, doctors’ offices, and so on – that typically co-exist with residential neighbourhoods.

The obvious difference is that shelters are much larger than family homes, with more people coming and going. That is why shelters, like hotels and most apartment buildings, are located on arterial roads, with particular efforts to locate close to public transit.

You are right. In Toronto’s tight real estate market, shelter locations are driven by the same considerations that affect all of us in the real estate market: Is the site available? Is it zoned appropriately? Is it suitable –the right size for our needs? And most important, is it affordable?

Recently in Toronto it has taken 1 – 2 years for shelter providers to find any site that meets these basic criteria. Given the pressing need, these are the sites that are purchased.

Men who have been homeless a long time are more visible in Toronto’s downtown eastside. That is because over 1000 of the city’s emergency shelter beds for men are located within a 10-block radius.

But that doesn’t mean the men who are now homeless were born downtown, or even had their last home there. They come from all parts of the City, with about 20% coming from outside Toronto. That’s why shelters belong in all parts of the City.

Shelters are permitted as-of-right in all parts of Toronto, provided:

• they are located on a major or minor arterial road
• the shelter’s lot is at 250 meters from any other lot with a municipal shelter or emergency shelter, hostel or crisis care facility
• they comply with all other applicable zoning provisions.

As-of-right uses do not require any public notification or consultations whatsoever. The City or non-profit shelter providers sometimes hold town halls or open houses to inform neighbours about the shelter, but the zoning by-law does not require them to do so.

The City has been using the Municipal Shelter By-law No. 138 – 2003 to guide its process for locating shelters. This by-law required Council approval for new shelters. However, the OMB found that this requirement is redundant and discriminatory, and has no place in a zoning by-law. The by-law was amended in 2004, but for some reason the correct version has not been posted on the City’s website. This confusion has unfortunately led some Torontonians to believe they had a greater say in locating shelters than they do.

Emergency shelters are no substitute for a permanent home, but they are needed – just as we need hospital emergency rooms as well as home care.

Shelters provide much-needed shelter from the elements, food, counseling and, most importantly, a gateway to other services and a real home. However, they are only one part of a system that includes housing help services, housing allowances, permanent supportive housing, and all types of affordable privately and publicly funded rental housing.