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Shelter score

As anti-poverty activists staged a sit-in at Metro Hall on a chilly afternoon in March, Rob Ford held a press conference in his office.

The mayor came out swinging against the activists, who had occupied the foyer of the government building to demand more shelter beds for the homeless.

Ford dismissed the action as a “cheap publicity stunt” and claimed it was “absolutely not true” that the homeless were being turned away from overcrowded shelters.

At the time, the mayor’s comments were the most powerful articulation yet of what had then been the city’s official party line, echoed by bureaucrats and staff reports that asserted “there are beds available every night.”

Reports of a bed shortage continued, however, and concerned councillors weren’t convinced shelters were “working great” as the mayor claimed. Council voted in April to ask staff to make more space in the system.

Since then the official narrative has softened and last week, for the first time, the Shelter, Support and Housing Administration provided independent evidence that corroborated with what activists had been claiming all along – homeless people are indeed being turned away.

An update on the shelter system that went before the Community Development and Recreation Committee on Wednesday, December 4, included a quality assurance review conducted by polling company Ipsos Reid.

To test access to shelters, the firm made 290 “mystery shopper” calls to 55 shelters and three referral services and asked to be matched with a bed.

The results were not good.

Only 12 per cent resulted in the immediate offer of a bed.

A full quarter of the calls were not answered after three attempts, and 13 per cent resulted in the caller’s being denied a bed without explanation.

Only 3 per cent of female clients who called were offered a bed on the spot compared to 15 per cent for men. The most common outcome was for callers to be referred to another agency or shelter, with no guarantee of getting a space.

The survey was conducted over three weeks in July and August, when shelter demand is relatively low. It would likely have yielded even more troubling findings if done during the winter months, when demand for shelter beds is at its peak.

John Clarke of the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty sees the study as vindication, albeit nothing to celebrate.

“It indicates that there’s a really severe problem in terms of people being turned away,” he says. “There’s been an ongoing attempt by the administration and by many politicians to downplay and understate the problem. And here’s another glimpse of the underlying reality.”

Councillor Joe Mihevc agrees that the results confirm reports about a systemic lack of access to beds.

“They give statistical validation to the anecdotes, the stories we’ve been hearing,” he says. “It’s not impossible, but you do have to work at getting a bed each night.”

The shelter administration, too, is now explicitly acknowledging that more beds are needed – a far cry from the department’s messaging 10 months ago.

“No one is pleased that callers are being denied a bed without explanation,” wrote administration spokesperson Patricia Anderson in an email response to questions from NOW. “The survey results indicate that we need to take action, and the introduction of more shelter beds and some administrative measures are a start.”

The administration has already been working to decrease occupancy rates to below 90 per cent capacity, as directed by council in April.

To do so they deployed 172 “flex” beds that were previously used only in emergencies, added 30 regular beds to existing facilities and asked shelter operators to find more space in their buildings.

Last week a temporary 30-bed women’s shelter in Parkdale was opened. But it’s only a temporary fix. The building is scheduled to be demolished in April to make room for a park. A request has been issued to find an operator for a permanent 50-bed women’s hostel.

Despite these efforts, however, occupancy rates in the 3,800-bed system are still above the 90 per cent benchmark.

System-wide occupancy is averaging 91 to 92 per cent, and women’s and coed sectors are even higher, well over 95 per cent.

Shelter staff say they are committed to improving the situation. They’ll be reviewing service and access standards in order to set new guidelines for responding to bed requests, which could address some of the issues raised by the Ipsos poll.

Councillor Mihevc hopes any administrative overhaul includes not only additional beds but the consolidation of homelessness services so people looking for help can get it by calling just one number.

The city website currently lists three different numbers for people seeking shelter (311, Central Intake and the Out of the Cold program), and the dozens of individual shelter providers can also be contacted directly.

Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam, a former shelter worker herself, wants the administration to put greater emphasis on helping homeless women by creating the city’s first 24-hour drop-in centre for them.

Wong-Tam says that for months she’s heard from front-line staff that shelters were full but that the extent of the problem hasn’t been reflected in official reports. She’s pleased that city officials have acknowledged that there are major problems with the system, but she’s perplexed as to why it took so long.

“It seems to me there is a culture of reform happening. I’m not sure why it’s coming now, but I’m really glad it’s here.”


91-92% Current average occupancy rate in the entire shelter system

Over 95% Typical occupancy rates in the women’s and coed sectors

25% Proportion of calls to shelters and referral agencies that went unanswered, according to a recent study

12% Proportion of calls that resulted in the immediate offer of a bed

3% Proportion of calls made by women that resulted in an immediate offer of a bed

13% Proportion of calls that resulted in denial of a bed with no explanation

bens@nowtoronto.com | @bens

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