Item - 2020.PH13.5

The Planning and Housing Committee recommends that:  

1. City Council direct the General Manager, Shelter, Support and Housing Administration, and the Executive Director, Housing Secretariat, to immediately begin implementation of the strategies, outlined on pages 8 to 12 and Tables 1 and 2 of the report (January 29, 2020) from the Deputy City Manager, Community and Social Services, to develop supportive housing opportunities in 2020 and report back to Planning and Housing Committee on further details for future year implementation plans in June 2020 as part of the HousingTO implementation plan;

2. City Council direct the General Manager, Shelter, Support and Housing Administration, to identify options for a pilot project by the third quarter of 2020 to convert a shelter site into supportive housing for long-term shelter stayers, for implementation by the fourth quarter of 2020;

3. City Council direct the General Manager, Shelter, Support and Housing Administration, to work with Toronto Community Housing to identify opportunities to use vacant units for housing with support opportunities for people exiting shelter, with a pilot of at least 40 units to be implemented in 2020;

4. City Council authorize the General Manager, Shelter, Support and Housing Administration, to enter into funding agreements, subject to approval of SSHA's 2020 Operating Budget, in consultation with the Ward Councillor and with community agencies to provide access to housing units with on-site supports, as part of the George Street Revitalization transition plan previously approved by Council;

5. City Council direct General Manager, Shelter, Support and Housing Administration, and the Executive Director, Housing Secretariat, to ensure that access plans and referral pathways for new supportive housing opportunities are established to prioritize people exiting homelessness and in alignment with the City's Coordinated Access to Housing and Supports system;

6. City Council direct the City Manager to identify opportunities to improve coordination and expedite approvals for supportive housing developments on a priority basis across City Divisions including but not limited to Housing Secretariat, Shelter, Support and Housing Administration, City Planning, Toronto Buildings, Municipal Licensing and Standards, Toronto Fire, Corporate Real Estate Management, and CreateTO, to ensure a coordinated approach and a shared understanding that supportive housing is a City priority in order to achieve specific targets for project approval and implementation; and

7. City Council request the federal and provincial Governments, as part of their 2020 Budgets, to commit to capital and operating funding to support the creation of 1,800 new units of supportive housing annually, in order to reduce homelessness in Toronto.

8.  City Council direct the Deputy City Manager, Community and Social Services, as part of the implementation plan for HousingTO 2020-2030 Action Plan being reported on in June 2020, report on the feasibility of allocating a target of one third of the remaining Housing Now rental units for the creation of new supportive housing.

9. City Council direct the Deputy City Manager, Community and Social Services, to engage the services of a third party to undertake an economic impact study on the Plan to Create Supportive Housing Opportunities and report to the Planning and Housing Committee on May 14, 2020. 

10. City Council request the General Manager, Shelter, Support and Housing Administration, in coordination with the Executive Director, Housing Secretariat, to include the necessary capital funding to create 600 units of dedicated supportive housing planned for 2021 in the 2021 budget for Council consideration and that City Council call on the Provincial and Federal Governments to provide the operating costs of these units.

The HousingTO 2020-2030 Action Plan, approved by City Council in December 2019, established a target of 40,000 new affordable rental homes approvals including 18,000 units of supportive housing over the next ten years. The HousingTO plan identified that achieving this supportive housing target is critical to addressing homelessness and the housing needs of vulnerable residents in the city of Toronto.

In November 2019, City Council directed the Deputy City Manager, Community and Social Services to report to Planning and Housing Committee with a plan to create 600 units of supportive housing on an annual basis starting in 2020. City Council also requested the federal and provincial governments to each commit to providing funding to meet the supportive housing target to assist in addressing the City of Toronto's growing homelessness crisis.

This report responds to Council's request. It identifies the current initiatives already underway for 2020 and highlights a number of strategies to achieve the supportive housing target, which will be further developed as part of the HousingTO implementation plan that will be brought to the Planning and Housing Committee for approval in June 2020.

The strategies and opportunities identified in this report build on the directions of HousingTO to increase the availability of supportive housing, shift future investment from building shelter infrastructure towards permanent supportive housing, and pilot innovative supportive housing opportunities.

To successfully achieve the targets set out in HousingTO, a joint multi-year supportive housing strategy and investment plan for Toronto will need to be established in partnership with all orders of government. The strategy and investment plan will determine the funding commitment required from all orders of government, including the City's contribution, to deliver on the HousingTO supportive housing targets and secure the investments needed for longer term solutions to homelessness.