Workers on the front lines of Toronto's homeless crisis say the holiday season has been tough on those living on the streets, as cold temperatures set in with feelings of isolation.
“Whether you're a newcomer and it's your first Christmas away from family, whether you were born in Canada and your family is still far away or for whatever reason isn't talking to you, it's hard for people to know they belong. Not at home,” Bethlehem United's Case manager Michalina Seidl said.
“People in shelters are regular people. Most of the time they're the most vulnerable….so remember to treat people with kindness, because you never know what they're going through.”
Valentina Diaz, manager of the Fred Victor Bethlehem United Shelter, says the season adds to the “emotional heaviness” homeless people face year-round.
“Overcoming life's hardships on your own can be especially difficult for people living on the streets or in shelters,” Diaz said.
Refugee claimants among those facing hardship
On an average night this year, the city has sheltered about 12,200 people, up from 10,700 people last year, according to Gord Tanner, chief of shelter and support services for the city.
More than 9,500 of those people are in the city's shelter system, with another 2,600 taking shelter in hotels. The city still turns away more than 200 people every night who are looking for a shelter bed, he said.
Among the struggling homeless, Diaz said, are refugee claimants who now make up the bulk of people using the city's shelter system.
It's been nearly six months since black-led churches and organizations in the Greater Toronto Area began sheltering refugee claimants due to the city's overburdened shelter system. Dale Manucdoc checked in on those efforts — and spoke with a couple settling into life in Ontario.
Earlier this year, the city said there would be more than 2,500 refugee claimants in the shelter system by 2023. By the end of that year, that number had risen to nearly 4,200.
Diaz said shelters are doing their best to support the growing number of refugees.
“We had to open up that bed availability for them because they were coming to a new country and they didn't have any resources or any kind of support,” she said.
Diaz said her shelter recently even hosted a holiday party for residents with games, music and food to make them feel less alone.
“We try to make it as fun as possible, and just let them know that even if they don't belong, there's a community here that they can support and count on,” Diaz said.
The city chose not to act on the refugee shelter recommendations
Earlier this month, Toronto's ombudsman Kwame Addo released a report investigating the city's May 2023 decision to stop allowing refugee claimants to access its base shelter system beds, finding the decision to be “inconsistent with city policies” and “amount to systemic racism.” Claimants were far from shelters even when beds were available.
The ombudsman made several recommendations to the city, including clearer procedures for asylum claimants.
City Manager Paul Johnson wrote in a letter that he disagreed with the report's findings and “will not take any further action” in response to the recommendations.
Last week, Mayor Olivia Chow said she was committed to holding a meeting to discuss the report, and that the meeting would include staff and councillors. It is not decided when and where that meeting will take place.
