Advocates urge city to do more for shelter crisis
Call for action comes after no beds were available for injured homeless woman
The City of Toronto is facing renewed criticism for its handling of the city’s shelter crisis after a story last week about a badly injured homeless woman who spent the night on the floor of a drop-in centre after she was hit by a car because no shelter beds were available.
“We are playing with people’s lives, and this shell game, at some point we are going to lose and losses will be significant,” said Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam (Ward 27, Toronto Centre—Rosedale).
Wong-Tam said she felt “anger, heartbreak and shame” when she heard the story of the woman, identified only as K.A. She suffered a broken shoulder, a gash above her eye and bruising when she was hit by a car near Parliament St. and Bloor St. E. in the early hours of Dec. 7. It was five days before she could access a bed in respite care.
“Most of the shelter workers I’ve spoken to tell me absolutely, in no uncertain terms — and actually they’ve been a lot more forceful in their language lately — that ‘Councillor, we are full,’ ” she said.
While the city has a target of a 90per-cent occupancy rate, the shelter system was at 95-per-cent capacity on Dec. 21 — with more than 5,400 people staying in shelters.
In a statement, Mayor John Tory said he has asked city staff to investigate what happened in K.A.’s case, which he called “an incredibly sad story.”
He added that he is “deeply concerned about the plight of people who are homeless in Toronto.”
“That’s why a majority of councillors voted this month to expand the city’s shelter system by 400 beds to deal with the unprecedented demand that we are facing. It is also why over the last three years, we have worked to expand the shelter system by more than 1,300 beds while, at the same time, we have worked to get people off the street and into permanent housing,” he said.
These are steps in the right direction, Wong-Tam said, but the city’s most recent announcement is ultimately just another temporary “Band-Aid.”
Dr. Glen Bandiera, the chief of emergency medicine at St. Michael’s Hospital, where K.A. was treated following her accident, said he couldn’t comment on the specifics of her case. But the hospital does have a number of options available to it for patients who may not have anywhere to go or any supports at home, he said, including admitting them to hospital, referring them to long-term care, or respite care.
“It depends a lot on the nature of the injuries and what type of environment is most suitable to create a healing environment,” he said, adding it also depends on whether the patient wants to avail themselves of any of those options.
Bandiera said, “We would not send the patient home if we didn’t think it was safe to do so,” space is often an issue.
“It’s not unusual that we have pa- tients that come to St. Michael’s and we try to get them into the shelter system and we’re told that they’re full,” he said.
Bandiera said St. Michael’s also has a Rotary Centre for patients who are medically discharged but may need time to organize support in the community. But Jessica Slotnick, a community health worker who works with K.A., said they were told the Rotary Centre admissions were only for 18 hours, so K.A. couldn’t have spent the night.
Cathy Crowe, a street nurse well known for her work with the homeless, said 70 homeless people have died between January and September.
“The mayor has to call a state of emergency around the homeless shelters,” she said, adding that she’s also calling for the city to commit to 1,000 new shelter beds and to open the armouries for emergency relief.
The mayor, however, is unlikely to call a state of emergency.
Tory’s director of communications, Don Peat, said he has been advised that calling a state of emergency wouldn’t be an appropriate use of the law. Peat added that the Better Living Centre is preferable to the armouries. The last time the armouries were used, they could only be accessed during the evening hours and for a limited time.