Survey gives voice to city’s most vulnerable
Howard Ramonaitis says he was “punched in the head” for snoring in a homeless shelter.
Richard Raybourne wasn’t able to find a stable home until he “made myself homeless” and got access to a federal program that offered housing and support to people with mental health and addiction problems.
Sandi Guignard, a shelter worker who was once homeless herself, says TTC fares are too expensive and too often, homeless people feel they don’t belong on public transit. They are not alone. Homeless and precariously-housed drop-in users in Toronto want more supportive housing and counselling for people with mental-health issues, an improved and expanded homeless shelter system and cheaper TTC fares, according to a new survey being released Monday.
The results, based on interviews with 74 men and women at three downtown drop-in centres earlier this month, highlight the needs of some of the city’s most vulnerable residents, said Guignard, who conducted the survey with other advocacy committee members at St. Stephen’s Community House.
She and other committee members who have experienced homelessness, mental health problems and addictions, say they hope Toronto councillors take their survey to heart as they debate the city’s 2018 budget on Feb. 12.
“We did this survey so they could hear the voices of those who don’t have a voice,” said Guignard, 49. “We see it getting worse and worse out there.”
Despite living in deep poverty, many drop-in users at Sistering, St. Felix Centre and St. Stephen’s who responded to the survey said they “love” living in Toronto and think the city is “great.” Some credited services such as shelters, food banks, dropins, free clothing and referrals from workers.
But for Helen Armstrong, a community development worker at St. Stephen’s who helped the group design the survey, those responses are bittersweet.
“I am shocked at how grateful they are for the little bit they get,” she said. “I think that speaks to how marginalized they are.”
Almost two-thirds of respondents said they had slept in a homeless shelter in the past two years. Of those, half reported overcrowding and one-third said they had been turned away because the shelter was full.
Shelter users said they turned to them for safety, hot meals and access to other services. But they also listed bad experiences, with more than half reporting physical violence and theft. Just over one in five said they felt harassed by staff.
More staff, smaller rooms, lockers and specialized services for people with mental health problems were suggested as solutions.
“You aren’t sleeping or eating very well and you are carrying everything you own in your pack,” said Guignard. “It’s no wonder fights break out.”
More than two-thirds of those surveyed used public libraries and most said the system was helpful. A minority said they had been followed or harassed by security guards and watched by staff. More than 84 per cent of those surveyed said they can’t afford the TTC.
“Halfway through the month I have no money for TTC fare,” reported one respondent.
“I use my food money for TTC fare,” said another.
When asked to list one good thing in the city, respondents listed everything from the CN Tower and fireworks to “a stranger offered me some clothes and bought me lunch.” Police, hospital and drop-in workers were also lauded for their kindness.
But the lack of affordable housing and transit were most often mentioned as experiences that make life difficult.
Ramonaitis, 56, was homeless for about five months before being admitted to an addiction treatment program last year. He has been clean and living in his own apartment since September.
Drop-in users he surveyed as part of the initiative were eager to participate, Ramonaitis said.
“They wanted to fill it out. It was important to them,” he said.
More than two-thirds of respondents said they lived with mental health problems and/or addictions. Their top priorities were more supportive housing and counselling services.
The city’s response to the overdose crisis barely got a passing grade with almost half saying services are sorely lacking. More safe injection sites, detox centres and addiction treatment programs topped the list of most pressing needs.
Since there are no more public deputations before council votes on the budget next month, the group hopes to speak about the survey results Monday evening at a budget town hall meeting being staged by Trinity-Spadina-area Councillor Joe Cressy.
On Thursday, Cressy announced the city’s purchase of a building in the Annex that will eventually serve as a new shelter with up to 90 beds. It is slated to open as a 24/7 warming centre this weekend.
Mayor John Tory’s budget commit- tee voted Tuesday to fund winter respite for 700 people in a variety of sites until the end of the year and to add1,000 new permanent beds to the emergency shelter system over the next three years, including 361 this year.
However advocates at St. Stephen’s and other activists say at least 1,500 new shelter beds are needed immediately to bring occupancy levels down to the city’s target of 90 per cent. Meantime, hundreds of social housing units are still slated to close due to disrepair, they add.
The budget committee also approved funding for the TTC’s “Fair Pass” plan that will provide discounts of 33 per cent on single adult fares and 21per cent on Metropasses for those on social assistance starting later this year. The discount for other low-income riders will be phased in by 2021.
While a welcome move, Guignard and others on the committee said the measure still puts the price of a monthly pass at more than $115 a month.
“It just means the money (social assistance) gives you for transit will be cut,” she said. “So people will have less flexibility.”