Dear residents,
As you are likely aware, City staff have chosen 66 Third Street as one of six new shelter locations across the city. Site selection for new shelters in the City of Toronto is delegated to City staff. This means that I was not involved in the decision to choose this particular site, and I am not able to change this decision now that it has been made.
That said, I support a shelter at this location if it is designed and operated in a way that is responsive to the feedback shared by community members and neighbours of the site.
As a community, and across the City, we have been experiencing unprecedented levels of housing instability and homelessness. In 2019, the City provided just over 7000 shelter beds. Only 5 years later, Toronto’s shelter system houses approximately 12,000 people daily, and still turns hundreds of people away every night.
Today, there is only one shelter in Etobicoke-Lakeshore with 40 beds for women. This means that if you live in our community and need access to a shelter, you will likely need to leave the neighbourhood – including your friends, family, work, routine, and services – in order to secure emergency shelter.
Last year, we saw many people living in encampments across Etobicoke-Lakeshore, and the 2021 Street Needs assessment highlighted a need for more service in Etobicoke – about 24% of people estimated to be living outdoors in Toronto were in Etobicoke.
The problem is stark, and clear to see. As a community we now have the chance to see a positive change. We have leadership at City Council and in City staff that understand the complexity of these challenges, and approach all individuals with dignity and respect.
We are choosing to invest in a proven model that makes a difference.
Modern, City-run shelters are safe, supportive, well thought-out spaces. They are staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and provide wraparound supports that people need during their transition into stable housing. New, smaller shelters are a critical part of our housing strategy and an important step towards a long-term proactive approach to the City’s shelter infrastructure. Building new shelters is significantly more cost-effective than continuing to operate hotel shelters to meet the needs of our residents.
The City is also making significant strides in our efforts to deliver more affordable and supportive housing. Ground has broken on many projects in Etobicoke, and work is underway to deliver more.
The challenges we face today require our best collective effort. New Toronto is my home too. I know firsthand that we have a proud history of making space in our community for the kind of housing people need. As a result, our community has flourished in so many ways and continues to be the close knit, vibrant, diverse, and proud place I know it to be.
I have been closely involved in the consultation process for this project so I can advocate for our community’s needs:
- I check in daily with my team to hear the feedback you’ve shared directly with my office,
- My team and I are in daily contact with Bruce Davis and his team at Public Progress for updates on the consultation plan and the feedback they’ve heard, and
- I have biweekly meetings with City staff to advocate for your needs as this project progresses.
The shelter at this location is anticipated to open between 2028–2030. This means we have time to work together and get this right.
I appreciate the apprehension of some, and the engagement of so many. I have confidence in the fact that we will unite as a community, in a good way, to shape the best path forward for this project.
Yours in community service,
Amber Morley
City Councillor, Ward 3 Etobicoke-Lakeshore
About the City’s Housing Strategy and new shelters across the city
HousingTO – the City’s Housing Action Plan
The HousingTO 2020-2030 Action Plan provides a blueprint for action across the full housing spectrum – from homelessness to rental and ownership housing to long-term care for seniors. This new plan was created following a comprehensive public and stakeholder consultation in 2019 and sets an aggressive housing agenda focused on supporting people over the next 10 years.
As outlined in the revised Toronto Housing Charter – Opportunity for All, the City of Toronto recognizes that housing is essential to the inherent dignity and well-being of the person and to building sustainable and inclusive communities.
In 2024, the City took important steps and made critical investments towards our housing goals, including:
- Moving 3,263 people out of shelters into permanent housing,
- Moving close to 2,650 households from the Centralized Wait List into rent-geared-to-income homes,
- Providing more than 2,200 loans and grants through Toronto Rent Bank to low-income households who needed help,
- Helping non-profit organizations convert 300 homes at risk of redevelopment into permanent affordable housing through Multi-Unit Residential Acquisition Program and funding,
- Unlocking over 7,000 new rental homes in the first phase of the rental housing incentives stream, and
- Implementing new processes to speed up construction timelines, reducing the average review time by about 80%.
⭐ Check the progress towards our HousingTO goals on the City’s Housing Data HubThe City of Toronto publishes quarterly updates on the Housing Data Hub and publishes these datasets to the City’s Open Data Portal. You can also find definitions of common terms like “affordable rental housing,” “social housing,” and “supportive housing” in the Definitions tab of the Data Hub! |
Shelters are a critical part of our housing strategy across the City and in Etobicoke-Lakeshore.
The City of Toronto’s shelter system is currently full. Demand for shelter space continues to increase due to inflated costs of living, insufficient affordable housing supply, inadequate wage and income supports, and an increase in the number of refugee claimants arriving in Toronto. Demand continues to increase, which presents significant challenges for the long-term sustainability of existing shelter infrastructure.
Hotel-based programs are considerably more expensive to deliver than operate a permanent new shelter. On average, the current per diem cost at shelters is $126 per person (per night), while the cost to operate a hotel is $253 per person (per night). For a site with 80 clients, this translates to a cost difference of $3.7 million per site. Over a 10-year period, the cost difference of renting a temporary hotel ($37 million) can exceed the cost of developing a permanent new shelter.
48% or 4,063 shelter spaces are at risk of being closed if leases are not extended or replaced. Solutions mobilized during the pandemic – like temporary short-term leases and contractual agreements – are no longer viable or fiscally responsible options for the long-term sustainability of the City’s shelter system.
The 2021 Street Needs assessment highlighted a need for more service in Etobicoke. About 24% of people estimated to be living outdoors in Toronto were in Etobicoke.
⭐ Check the Shelter System Flow Dashboard for a Monthly Snapshot of Toronto’s Shelter CapacityThis dashboard provides data about the number of people experiencing homelessness, and who is entering and leaving the shelter system each month. This data provides a more comprehensive picture of people using the shelter system than traditional measures, such as the Daily Shelter Occupancy Reports, which focus on nightly occupancy and capacity. |
Learning from experience, the City is now focused on building smaller, better-resourced shelters that meet local needs.
Under the Homelessness Services Capital Infrastructure Strategy, the City is building new shelters across Toronto, with a focus on locations where there are current gaps in services.
The City already directly operates or oversees more than 100 shelter sites across Toronto. These emergency shelters provide temporary accommodation and related support services that assist people to move into housing. All locations are staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and provide wrap-around supports, including:
- meals and laundry,
- access to harm reduction and mental and physical health supports,
- counsellors/case managers to develop permanent housing plans, and
- assessments and referrals to other community services, as needed.
The City has strict Shelter Standards and Design and Technical Guidelines, established and revised through practical experience as the largest shelter system in Canada.
The Homelessness Services Capital Infrastructure Strategy includes guidelines to ensure that the City’s shelters provide safety and dignity for all, including:
- Ensuring that new shelters have a capacity of 80 beds or less, with a small number of beds per room, depending on site constraints. Smaller shelters are more welcoming, support client wellbeing, can cater to specific populations, and provide greater safety.
- Integrating more harm reduction principles in shelter spaces, and ensuring physical spaces for harm reduction supports are available to clients.
- Prioritizing the safety of clients, staff, and community members through robust safety planning to ensure supports are available to address complex safety needs. City Council recently approved a Shelter Safety Action Plan, informed by shelter providers, people with lived experience residing in Toronto’s shelter system, and the Housing Rights Advisory Committee.
Shelters provide emergency housing, and support when it’s most needed to get back on your feet.“The shelter has advisers to help residents find housing and obtain important documents, like driver’s licences, social security and health cards. In March 2021, they asked if I wanted a job working as a liaison between the shelter and its residents. I would do things like help the nurses talk to people, make a list of residents who wanted vaccines and visit other shelters to help out. It was right up my alley, so I said yes. It pays $25 an hour, which helped me get back on my feet.” Read Lynn’s story of how she came to live in a Toronto emergency shelter, her experience living there, the support she received, and her move into supportive housing. |
Site selection for the City’s new emergency shelters was delegated to City Staff by City Council in 2021, during the previous Council term.
Delegating authority to staff ensures that the City can work quickly to respond to pressures within the shelter system and ensure that as many people as possible can access critical shelter services and support. This means that the decision to approve new shelter sites is not made by City Councillors or the Mayor. This helps to accelerate and depoliticize the shelter development process, which is consistent with a human-rights based approach to housing and related services for vulnerable residents. This approach also supports the City of Toronto’s commitment to housing as a human right and the Housing First model that recognizes that individuals without stable places to stay are less likely to effectively address health, economic, and social challenges and successfully move forward with their lives.
About the new shelter at 66 Third Street
66 Third Street was chosen by City Staff after an extensive due diligence process, including reviewing over 100 sites across Toronto.
The new shelter at 66 Third St. is one of the first six of 20 new purpose-built shelter sites planned city-wide. City staff assessed over 100 sites across Toronto to determine if they met the City’s criteria for shelter use, including 14 properties in Etobicoke-Lakeshore. To meet City Council deadlines and respond to increasing demand for homelessness services, staff are moving forward with all viable shelter locations that meet the City’s criteria.
City divisions and agencies – including Corporate Real Estate Management, CreateTO, and Toronto Shelter and Support Services – work closely together to identify potential sites for shelter use. This includes assessing underutilized City assets and market listings. As new sites/locations are identified, an evaluation process is completed.
The evaluation process for 66 Third St included:
- Site Identification – Toronto Parking Authority (TPA) worked with CreateTO to review its assets to determine which ones were surplus to operational needs.
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Desktop Evaluation Review – Staff completed due diligence of the site to determine the best use. This included but is not limited to assessing:
- The size of the lot and zoning
- Estimated development costs
- Access to transportation
- Availability of other community resources in the area
- Initial site visit – Staff visited the site to further investigate the suitability for shelter use and the feasibility of the development. Staff also assessed the surrounding neighbourhood around the property to identify key stakeholders.
- Pre-development due diligence – Before the site moves forward, additional assessments will be completed. This includes Completion of Environmental Site Assessment (ESA)
Through this exercise, City Staff determined that the best potential use of this City lot at 66 Third St. would be as a municipal shelter. To date, four surplus TPA lots were identified for future shelter development from a list of 37 city-owned properties.
These new shelters are located near community resources and services that residents of the shelter need access to.Shelters are located and successfully operated in residential neighborhoods throughout the city of Toronto near other community services such as daycares, schools, libraries, community centers, and health care services. The City and its operating partners have significant experience in successfully operating homelessness services close to schools and childcare facilities. An example of a successful shelter is Fort York Residence at 38 Bathurst St, a shelter serving men that is co-located with a Childcare Centre (run by Children’s Services) with minimal community impact. |
We need your voice and local perspective to shape the design and programming at this shelter.
As residents of Etobicoke-Lakeshore, we know our local needs best. I support a shelter at this location if it is designed and operated in a way that is responsive to the feedback shared by community members and neighbours of the site.
The City has hired Community Engagement Facilitator Public Progress to lead the community engagement process, and I will continue to be closely involved in the consultation process for this project so I can advocate for our community’s needs:
- I check in daily with my team to hear the feedback you’ve shared directly with my office,
- My team and I are in daily contact with Bruce Davis and his team at Public Progress for updates on the consultation plan and the feedback they’ve heard, and
- I have biweekly meetings with City staff to advocate for your needs as this project progresses.
Please reach out to Public Progress by email ([email protected]) or phone (647-946-8710) for shelter updates, answers to your questions, and to share feedback so we can work collaboratively to collectively problem-solve concerns that may arise.
In-person Drop-in Community Session hosted by Public Progress📅 February 10, 5–8pm📍 Humber College Lakeshore Campus - G Building (17 Colonel Samuel Smith Park Dr)Public Progress is hosting an in-person drop-in on the new shelter at 66 Third Street. City Staff, Councillor Morley, and the Public Progress team will be available to share information, answer your questions, and hear your feedback. This is a drop-in event so you can attend at a time that is convenient for you. Please reach out directly to [email protected] to be added to their mailing list and for more information. |