Brampton men experiencing homelessness to be evicted from hotel shelter

A group of men experiencing homelessness in Brampton say they’re being evicted from their shelter and will have no place to go as of Monday as cases of COVID-19 spike in Peel Region.

Edward Grdic, 55, has been living at the Park Inn by Radisson since May of this year, but he will soon be out on the street after receiving an eviction letter earlier this month.

He and several others have been living at the hotel due to the shelter system in Brampton being full. The city has been using hotels across the city to accommodate and allow for proper social distancing.

On Nov. 3, he and a select few received a discharge letter stating they would have to leave by Nov. 30.

Grdic said his case worker told him since he was on Ontario Works Welfare, they could no longer accommodate him and he should be looking for permanent housing.

But, Grdic says he’s been receiving the benefit since he began living at the hotel.

He has attempted to look for permanent housing in the past, but has never been accepted due to being on Ontario Works.

One of his main concerns is being out on the streets as Peel Region experiences a spike in COVID-19 cases. The region, along with Toronto, went into lockdown on Monday.

Peel currently has the highest test positivity percentage in the province at 10.1 percent over the last seven days.

“Here, it’s a safe place for us,” he said. “I have no options. [I was] hoping to stay at least until spring or something to change out there for us. But to send us out during a lockdown with 30 other guys, how safe are you going to be? I just want to be safe.”

“It would be safer for me to go to jail,” said Grdic.

Grdic is worried if he catches COVID-19, he would not have a place to properly isolate.

“Help us. It’s a lockdown, you’re telling people to stay home and this and that. All we hear is about restaurants and what about us homeless people,” he pleaded. “We need help too. Just help us, that’s it.”

Leslie Moreau, the Manager of Client Services for Housing within Peel Region, tells CityNews in a statement they are unable to disclose details about specific situations due to privacy legislation.

Moreau said many shelter residents receive Ontario Works supports and this would not be a reason for discharge. She added in the statement than when clients leave the shelter system, they are provided with “appropriate supports and referrals.”

Grdic says even though he asked where he could go, he wasn’t given an answer, adding out of the 10 men who received the notice none of them have been accommodated.

The group say they’ve formed a community among themselves since living in the hotel and staff at the Park Inn have have been supportive.

Keven is another man facing eviction on Monday. He calls the situation “unfair,” saying they have not provided him any other options.

“Everybody else in the city is basically called [to] stay in your home but you’re telling me, we don’t know where we’re going to send you out and figure out for yourself. That makes no sense.”