Community concerns over homeless shelter in southwest Scarborough remain, despite city providing information on plans
By MATTHEW STEPHENS
After months of quiet planning and secrecy, City of Toronto officials held a public event to address ongoing concerns regarding the establishment of an 80-person homeless shelter at 2535 Gerrard St. E.
“It is crucial to recognize that the shelter’s presence affects real people, including children both within the shelter and in the surrounding community,” said Eloise Morrison, supervisor at Teach Me to Fly Preschool located at 2560 Gerrard St. E.
On Tuesday, Jan. 21, at Birchcliff Bluffs United Church on East Road, city officials held a public meeting to discuss planning logistics for the operations of the new shelter, which is set to open its doors in early 2027.
Residents were invited to the open house meeting to discuss the development process and shelter details for the upcoming Scarborough Southwest location. Visitors of the meeting were shown a detailed presentation and had a chance to voice their opinions on the location of the new shelter.
Despite the planned meeting taking place after the shelter’s official announcement in late November last year, many residents still believe the city hasn’t done enough to touch base and keep them in the loop.
“As a licensed childcare operation, we are entrusted with the safety and well-being of the individuals under our care,” said Morrison. “We have not been engaged in dialogue with the City of Toronto or shelter officials to address our concerns regarding the shelter’s impact on our operations and safety protocols.”
Director of Infrastructure Planning and Development for Toronto Shelter and Support Services Loretta Ramadhin says she welcomes members of the community to voice their concerns to ensure the shelter operates smoothly when it opens.
“We appreciate that neighbours and community members are interested in plans the City of Toronto has for current and planned shelter locations. Active community engagement is an integral part of successfully opening a new shelter, and we welcome all feedback. Community feedback is taken seriously and will help influence shelter operations and planning to ensure it is successful in the community,” said Ramadhin.
Included in the city’s plans was a list of operational details and goals, a shelter service model, answers to “key questions,” and details regarding community engagement going forward.
In November last year, the City of Toronto went into negotiations to secure the purchase of the vacant building at 2535 Gerrard St. E. with plans to convert it into an 80-bed shelter.
After becoming public knowledge, the plans to secure the location quickly received backlash from the community, who voiced their opposition to the proposed location.
According to Morrison, the preschool has already fallen victim to several instances of compromised child safety. She said that without effective shelter regulations in place, these issues may persist.
“The primary concern is the health and safety of the children at our daycare who are among our most vulnerable individuals,” said Morrison. “We would like to understand the client-to-staff ratios at the proposed shelter to gauge the level of supervision and care provided.”
Among the many other concerns forwarded by both residents and Ward 20 Scarborough Southwest Councillor Parthi Kandavel in recent months, public safety, lack of transparency or community engagement, and shelter oversaturation in Scarborough Southwest seemed to be the most pressing.
“What is required is more transparency on how city staff make these decisions about where they’re located,” Kandavel told Beach Metro Community in an earlier interview. “There’s no doubt everyone recognizes the need for shelters. Where we place them is the question.”
According to City of Toronto’s Senior Communications Advisor Elise von Scheel, community engagement is an integral part of a new shelter’s development process. She says the city has hired “Third Party Public” to lead and facilitate the community engagement process going forward.
“Community engagement is an essential step in creating a new shelter. The City has hired Third Party Public to lead the community engagement process. This includes providing ongoing shelter updates like the e-updates on the city website, responding to questions, and setting up meetings to work collaboratively with the city and local community members to collectively problem-solve concerns that may arise,” Scheel told Beach Metro Community News in a recent email.
The City of Toronto posted e-updates on a community bulletin last month, which sought to answer questions posed by the community in December of last year.
Included in the bulletin were questions regarding how the shelter will work, what adequate long-term services will be provided, what resources will be available to support the integration of the shelter, and how the location’s management will learn from past shelters.
Addressing public safety concerns, the updated bulletin said the site will be staffed 24/7 by “individuals who are trained in case management for housing and support, harm reduction services, de-escalation, conflict resolution, crisis prevention, and intervention and management.”
The shelter’s team members will also be trained to respond to immediate non-police or non-EMS-related matters when they are made aware by the community. The site is expected to have access to a range of primary care services and mental health and harm reduction supports, said the city bulletin.
Conversations between community engagement facilitators and local residents are still ongoing to ensure “the shelter can be successful,” and Scheel said a copy of the presentation given at the meeting, along with Community Bulletins that provide updated answers to questions posed by local residents can be found on the project webpage at https://www.toronto.ca/community-people/housing-shelter/homeless-help/about-torontos-shelter-system/developing-shelter-sites/2535-gerrard-st-e/
Despite the city’s willingness to now work with residents, many in the area still believe they were left in the dark during the negotiation process to secure the location of the shelter in the first place.
According to Scheel, confidentiality in securing shelter locations is an essential part of the city’s negotiation process.
“Scouting locations, signing agreements, and conducting due diligence are important steps in this strategy, and details about sites under consideration need to be confidential to maintain the City’s negotiating position, ensuring best value for taxpayer dollars,” said Scheel.
For Kandavel, the city’s decision to secure a fifth shelter space within the Scarborough Southwest region was made without consideration of the four existing shelter spaces already situated in the area.
“I’ve seen the placements of the four existing shelters in my ward,” said Kandavel in his earlier interview with Beach Metro Community News. “A lot of folks in Scarborough feel like (the city) is dumping on Scarborough again,” said Kandavel. “All our hotels became shelters.”
According to Scheel, Scarborough sees a higher percentage of homelessness compared to other districts in the city.
“The City currently operates more than 100 shelter services. Of these, four are in Ward 20 (Scarborough Southwest),” said Scheel. “The 2021 Street Needs Assessment survey found 30 per cent of people unsheltered outdoors were staying in the Scarborough area, highlighting the importance of increasing services in that area.”
However, many area residents are concerned about the lack of essential services surrounding the new shelter location.
When asked about the services provided for visitors when the new shelter location becomes operational, Scheer detailed that access to primary health, mental health, and harm reduction services, along with case managers focused on helping clients to build permanent housing plans, are just some of the expected services planned.
For more information about the City of Toronto’s shelter development, please go to https://www.toronto.ca/community-people/housing-shelter/homeless-help/about-torontos-shelter-system/developing-shelter-sites/
