Homeless shelters near capacity in Toronto

By Stella Acquisto

The extreme cold temperatures that are taking over the city are expected to last into the new year. The record setting lows has volunteers at the Moss Park Overdose Prevention site alarmed.

They say the number of people that have come to the centre has increased, causing most of the shelters to be near or at capacity in Toronto.

“(They’re) probably the highest numbers we have seen since we opened in August,” site volunteer Jennifer Ko explained.

“Some of that is because of holiday closures but a lot of that is the weather as well. People are looking for a safe place to be and to be warm.”

CityNews contacted the City of Toronto to get a response to the situation, but have yet to hear back from them. According to the city website, as of Dec. 28, few spots were available at shelters. In Toronto, occupancy rates are at 96 per cent at men’s shelters, 99 per cent at women and youth shelters, and 100 per cent at family shelters.

“We close at 10:30 (p.m.) and a lot of the folks, when we close, have nowhere to go. We’ve called yesterday and today to access some of the shelter services and it’s always the same message — everything is full,” Ko said.

The city has announced plans to increase capacity at shelters. Earlier this month, city council voted to use $10 million to make 400 emergency beds available by the end of the winter.

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