{"id":146313,"date":"2018-01-15T01:37:40","date_gmt":"2018-01-15T06:37:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=146313"},"modified":"2018-01-15T01:37:40","modified_gmt":"2018-01-15T06:37:40","slug":"housing-for-homeless-helps-prevent-winter-emergency-shelter-crises-advocate-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2018\/01\/15\/housing-for-homeless-helps-prevent-winter-emergency-shelter-crises-advocate-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Housing for homeless helps prevent winter emergency shelter crises: advocate"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\"Although<\/a>
Although he agreed Toronto needs to meet this winter’s demand, he said the city must address a larger issue. (Pixabay photo)<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Homeless shelter emergencies aren’t happening in other Canadian winter cities because they have focused on getting people into housing, says the head of a national group working to get people off the streets.<\/p>\n

Officials in Toronto opened a temporary homeless shelter earlier this month in the face of what Mayor John Tory called relentless cold and an unprecedented demand for additional supports.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere’s a surge in homelessness for some reason,\u201d said Tim Richter, president of the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness. \u201cThey don’t know what to attribute it all to yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although he agreed Toronto needs to meet this winter’s demand, he said the city must address a larger issue.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe worry is it becomes a panic and becomes a focus on shelters,\u201d Richter said. \u201cWe have the emergency we’re facing eclipsing the crisis that created the emergency.<\/p>\n

\u201cHomelessness is caused by a lack of housing. People become focused on shelters as their response.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said cities such as Edmonton, Montreal, Hamilton, Guelph, Ont., and London, Ont., have avoided shelter emergencies this year because they have put efforts into housing the homeless in recent years.<\/p>\n

Officials in some of those cities confirmed they’ve had enough beds to cope with increasing demand during recent cold snaps.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the deep freeze, we had beds available,\u201d said Matthew Pearce, chief executive officer of the Old Brewery Mission in Montreal. \u201cBefore we were over-full … Now there’s no mattresses on the floor. None in the hallways. None in the cafeteria.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere’s nobody who’s had to sleep on the floor because there’s no beds.\u201d<\/p>\n

The change, he said, can be linked to some changes that have made.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can’t just continue to provide overnight shelter and meals and showers and change of clothes,\u201d said Pearce. \u201cAs critical as those services are, if that’s where we stop, we are aiding and abetting homelessness.\u201d<\/p>\n

Homes for about 600 people have been found in the last two years, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were the ones we could count on every night being there filling up the beds,\u201d said Pearce. \u201cNow they’re not there. They are in their own apartments.\u201d<\/p>\n

Similar programs are in place in Alberta, where several cities and agencies have been working on a 10-year plan to end homelessness.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have over a dozen organizations that have housing-first programs,\u201d said Susan McGee, chief executive officer of Homeward Trust in Edmonton. \u201cThat housing activity has shown results.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nearly 6,000 people have moved into homes in the last seven to eight years, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe still have a long way to go. We still have people in the shelters,\u201d said McGee, who noted emergency shelters in Edmonton have been able to keep up with the demand so far this winter.<\/p>\n

The federal government said it’s keeping an eye on emergency shelters across the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere’s a couple of things that are different in Toronto,\u201d said city MP Adam Vaughan, chairman of an advisory committee on homelessness. \u201cToronto is a magnet to folks, not just regionally, but across the country and around the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople come to Toronto looking for economic opportunity, but they also stay in Toronto because the services are strong.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, Vaughan agreed that the country’s largest city does need to turn its attention to getting street people into homes.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we really ought to be doing is depopulating the shelters with supportive housing, which is cheaper,\u201d said Vaughan. \u201cIt’s also more humane and it’s where the homeless want to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

He praised progress made in Montreal and Edmonton.<\/p>\n

\u201cQuebec’s prevention systems and Alberta’s rapid rehousing focus are probably the two best practices in the country,\u201d he said. \u201cAs a result, the two largest jurisdictions outside of Vancouver and Toronto are not experiencing a crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n

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