Province Renovates, Makes Property Available to City for Homeless Respite Centre
Ontario has provided the City of Toronto with an emergency shelter space to help ensure that those experiencing homelessness have a safe place to sleep.
Today, the province made its property at 354 George Street available for Toronto to operate as an emergency homeless respite centre, after expediting renovations to make it ready for this winter. Substantial renovations were made to the building’s interior as well as its HVAC, plumbing and electrical systems.
The City of Toronto will begin accepting clients at 354 George Street by 10 a.m. on Sunday, January 28.
Quick Facts
- Ontario is working with the City of Toronto to improve access to health services for people that are homeless or using shelters.
- Through the Community Homelessness Prevention Initiative the province is investing more than $345 million over three years to address homelessness in the City of Toronto.
- Toronto will receive just over $90 million over three years under Ontario’s Home For Good program to assist up to 1,884 households and create 234 supportive housing units.
- On January 4, 2018, the province, on behalf of the City of Toronto, formally requested that the federal Moss Park Armoury be opened as a temporary shelter until a longer-term shelter became available.
Additional Resources
Quotes
“When Toronto asked for help, we took immediate action to help protect the safety of our most vulnerable people. The opening of 354 George St. will provide more emergency shelter space for Toronto. We will continue to work with Toronto on long-term supportive housing that will help more people get off the street and into permanent homes.”
“The province worked quickly on renovations to prepare the building, including upgrades to the heating, plumbing and electrical systems. Given this winter’s extreme cold weather, we are pleased that we can help the most vulnerable citizens in our society.”
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