Item - 2018.CD25.5

That City Council direct the General Manager, Shelter, Support and Housing Administration, in conjunction with the Chief Information Officer, to investigate and report to the Community Development and Recreation Committee on the feasibility of implementing a clear, web and graphic based, real-time, shelter/respite space availability reporting system, based on existing technologies in use elsewhere.

That City Council direct the General Manager, Shelter, Support and Housing Administration, to refine and communicate emergency and extreme weather shelter expansion emergency plans and activation protocols, and to develop a regular testing and exercise program in conjunction with regional municipalities, Federal and Provincial governments.

That City Council direct the Deputy City Manager, Internal Corporate Services to enter into discussions with faith-based organizations to explore possibilities to acquire properties that are slated for sale that could include a shelter as well as other related City Services.

Amended by motion 6b by Councillor Pasternak

That, in order to address the shelter crisis that is a result of a lack of affordable housing across the City, City Council request the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning to report to the Planning and Growth Management Committee at its April 5, 2018 meeting on proposed amendments to the City's zoning By-laws to make rooming houses a permitted use City-wide.

City Council direct the General Manager, Shelter, Support and Housing Administration to review the report, “An Evaluation of Toronto’s Warming Centre and Winter Response to Homelessness, January 2018” by the Health Providers Against Poverty and to report back to the February 28, 2018 meeting of Community Development and Recreation Committee on the feasibility of implementing the recommendations in that report.

That City Council direct the General Manager, Shelter, Support and Housing Administration to investigate the feasibility of expanding the respite centre at 705 Progress Avenue from 49 beds to 100 beds, including ensuring social service and mental health supports are available at the site.

That City Council:

1.  Thank management, front-line staff, partnering agencies, and all support workers for their excellent work in supporting, sheltering, and helping the homeless during a very trying time.

2.  Request the General Manager, Shelter, Support and Housing Administration, to report back on a strategy and cost for an annual or bi-annual update of the City of Toronto and Government of Canada resource document, "Guide to Services for People who are Homeless," which was last updated in 2014.

3.  Request the General Manager, Shelter, Support and Housing Administration, to report back to the Community Development and Recreation Committee with an update on medical triage, assessment, treatment and/or referral services, including those recently funded by the Province of Ontario in our shelter system, and whether mobile medical teams can be put in place to fill any gaps.

4.  Request the General Manager, Shelter, Support and Housing Administration, to report back to the Community Development and Recreation Committee on opportunities for working with and setting up a referral system with Toronto offices of Veterans Canada and The Royal Canadian Legion and their program Operation: Leave the Streets Behind.

That Motion 2 by Councillor Paula Fletcher be amended by adding the words "in conjunction with CreateTO" so that it now reads as follows:

That City Council direct the Deputy City Manager, Internal Corporate Services, in conjunction with CreateTO, to enter into discussions with faith-based organizations to explore possibilities to acquire properties that are slated for sale that could include a shelter as well as other related City Services.

1.  City Council:

a. reaffirm the 90 percent shelter occupancy cap in shelters across all sectors.

b. request the Federal Government to provide ongoing access and support in retaining operation of the Moss Park Armoury as a respite centre until April 15, 2018 at no cost to the City of Toronto

c. request the federal government to consider the uploading and/or sharing of costs, operations and management of housing and shelter-related services including hotel contracts, for specialized populations which the Government of Canada is currently responsible for such as for asylum seekers, refugees, veterans and Indigenous persons and to ensure that culturally and linguistically appropriate wrap-around community service supports are in place for such residents

d. direct the Deputy City Manager, Cluster A in consultation with the General Manager of Shelter, Support and Housing Administration and the Acting Chief Financial Officer to:

i) retain operations of the necessary respite centres, warming centres, and drop-in programs beyond the scheduled April 15, 2018 timeline to respond to the overcrowding in the shelter system;

ii) Work with the operators of the Out of the Cold programs with the aim of keeping the program running beyond the scheduled April 15, 2018 timeline to respond to the overcrowding in the shelter system;

iii) immediately begin preparations for the 2018-2019 Winter season and to consult with all interested parties in these preparations with interested community stakeholders;

iv)  immediately develop service and maintenance standards for winter respite drop-ins, 24 hour drop-ins, warming centres and the Out of the Cold programs;

v) ensure necessary budget adjustments are made for 2018 and subsequent years.

e. request the Ministry of Health and the Toronto Central Local Health Integration Network immediately to develop, in consultation with service providers, a comprehensive and funded plan to provide adequate health services, including mental health and harm reduction supports, throughout the shelter system, including within shelters, winter respite centres, warming centres, drop-in centres and Out of the Cold programs.

2.  City Council request the Deputy City Manager, Cluster A to report on recommendations 1.b, 1.c, 1.d and 1.e to the February 28, 2018 meeting of the Community Development and Recreation Committee.

3.  Community Development and Recreation Committee request the Deputy City Manager, Cluster A in consultation with the General Manager of Shelter, Support and Housing Administration to report to the February 28, 2018 meeting of the Committee with the following information: 

a. The need for 1000+ new permanent shelter beds in the system;

b. Number of current permanent shelter beds in the City of Toronto;

c. Number of motel and hotel beds used as shelter beds in the City of Toronto;

d. Number of emergency spaces (mats, cots or chairs), including those at winter respite centres and 24-hour drop-ins, available in the City of Toronto; 

e. Breakdown of replacement shelter beds versus actual new shelter beds planned for 2018 and 2019;

f. Number of permanent shelter beds required today in order to meet our 90 percent occupancy target;

g. Total shelter budget approved in each of the last 10 years;

h. Number of health, mental health, and harm reduction workers employed by the City currently working within the shelter system;

i. Number of frontline health and harm reduction staff funded by the Province working with the shelter system;

j. Number of transitional and supportive housing beds currently funded by the Province of Ontario in the City of Toronto;

k. Current waiting list for transitional and supportive housing beds in the City of Toronto;

l. Details of the current Province of Ontario imposed cap on shelter funding for the City of Toronto;

m. Details of the current Government of Canada funding allocations to support shelter services in Toronto;

n. A funding and capacity comparison of provincial investments in shelters, including permanent and transitional shelter beds and respite centres, made to Toronto and other GTA municipalities, and an evaluation of those investments relative to the numbers of homeless individuals in Toronto and GTA municipalities.

That:

1.  City Council direct the General Manager, Shelter, Support and Housing Administration to pursue appropriate accommodation and support for refugees and asylum seekers through partner agencies supporting immigrants and refugees, to lessen the reliance on the use of hotels as emergency shelters.

That:

1.  City Council request the Deputy City Manager, Cluster A, to implement a third party review of the staff complement at all levels of the Shelter Support and Housing Administration (including management, food staff, cleaners, client services, etc.) and community agencies and programs that provide 24 hour service, with a view to reporting on deficiencies and identifying finances required to resolve them.

2.  City Council direct that the third party review also include an examination of training standards and any upgrades that may be required.

That Councillor Wong-Tam's motion 1 be amended by adding a new Part 3.o:

o. An analysis of the number of transitional and supportive housing units required to accommodate residents in shelters and on various social housing waiting lists; and further additional strategies to address this sector with numeric goals and policy objectives.

That:

1.  The Executive Director, Social Development, Finance and Administration and the General Manager, Shelter Support and Housing Administration make a joint presentation, together with representatives of the Toronto Central Local Health Integration Network (LHIN), regarding the shelter operating model, including health services provided through the LHINs, at the February 28, 2018 Community Development and Recreation Committee meeting.

That:

1.  The Deputy City Manager, Cluster A, in consultation with the Deputy City Manager, Internal Services, report directly to City Council on discussions with faith organizations regarding opportunities for respite services in local churches which are no longer conducting services.

That:

1.  The General Manager, Shelter, Support and Housing Administration report to the February 28, 2018 Community Development and Recreation Committee meeting on resources and training that can be provided to providers of the Out of the Cold program in handling harm reduction situations, including the disposal of needles and cleaning areas that have been used for injection.