Shelters must keep all safe
It’s hard to imagine calling 911 in the midst of an emergency only to be told to call back later since no one is available to answer the phone. Trying again in an hour simply isn’t an option when your house is on fire.
But that’s not the only emergency Torontonians face, especially in the depths of winter. For unhoused people, the shelter system is every bit as much a lifeline as first responders, particularly when temperatures in the city are dipping to around -20C.
And yet callers to the City of Toronto’s Central Intake Line for emergency shelter accommodation have reportedly been receiving automated messages telling them their calls can’t be answered, while others have been told that the shelters are temporarily full.
Needless to say, this is a potentially deadly situation for those who are living outside in sub-zero temperatures. But the city’s own data affirm that space in emergency shelters is either full or very nearly full: as of Jan. 11, emergency shelter programs for families were operating at 100 per cent capacity, while those for single adults were at 97.5 per cent.
This is occurring despite the fact that the city has recently increased the number of spaces available in shelters, and the number of beds is now the highest in five years. A total of 450 beds that were opened last winter were scheduled to close in April 2021, but have instead remained open throughout the year. The city also added another 68 beds by opening two shelters in the summer and fall of last year, for a total of 518 new beds.
City council also directed the city to add 1,248 supportive housing units during the 2021-22 year. And the city’s winter services plan, released in October, was designed to increase capacity for at least another 200 people. In addition, the winter plan calls for activating four warming centres, which provide space for 150 people when an extreme cold weather alert is issued.
Despite these laudable efforts, however, the situation is now critical thanks to an unholy confluence of factors. First, the system is facing unprecedented demand for beds, in part likely as a result of the dismantling of encampments across the city. And second, the rising infection rate from the Omicron COVID-19 variant has placed enormous stress on the system, its staff and clients.
The city does offer COVID hotels and isolation programs, but those are also nearing capacity. As of Jan. 11, the hotel programs are 98.5 per cent full. And as the Star recently reported, shelter residents testing positive have therefore been advised to stay where they are — in the shelters, with others who are not infected.
More than 40 shelters are now experiencing outbreaks involving in excess of 300 people, and according to the Shelter and Housing Justice Network, a coalition of groups that work with the homeless population, N95 masks are being provided to staff members but not to residents. Vaccination rates for residents are comparatively low, and finding adequate testing has proved challenging.
Consequently, the shelters have had to struggle to ensure sufficient physical distancing, thereby effectively reducing capacity. Furthermore, COVID has also led to staff shortages and burnout, which has further affected the quality of service.
Now, to be fair, no one predicted the emergence of Omicron, and the city’s winter plan was released more than a month before the first Omicron case was reported in South Africa. But experts had long been warning that the rapidly mutating SARS-CoV-2 virus could easily produce more infectious and more virulent variants.
The shelter and housing network also warned late last year that the city’s winter plan was deficient, and called for the addition of 2,250 permanent, non-congregate shelter beds to meet demand. Given the current situation, groups now argue that the city should seek help from the federal government or other agencies. At the very least, the city could seek assistance in ensuring sufficient testing and vaccination of shelter residents.
Nonetheless, the city maintains that it can handle things on its own. And since the cold weather is still here, and COVID is not yet leaving, it’s incumbent upon the city to ensure sufficient capacity in both shelters and isolation centres. After all, the house is on fire, and it’s up to the city to put it out.
At the very least, the city could seek assistance in ensuring sufficient testing and vaccination of shelter residents