Homeless Situation in Toronto
- Power to the Youth Toronto
- Feb 11, 2023
- 2 min read
Why is it that a major metropolitan city like Toronto sees over 10, 000 homeless people every night?
Research reveals that one of the major factors at play in leaving people without homes is the housing market and the economy itself. Recent fluctuating rises in inflation is a key component that contributes to the growing number of people finding themselves without a home, leaving a huge part of the population without shelter. This also means that safe-spaces, such as shelters are occupied at full capacity on a daily basis. In fact, 98% of Toronto’s shelters are occupied every night, and a significant amount of the people there have been homeless for over a year. Another key contributor to this rise in homelessness can be attributed to COVID-19 . The pandemic resulted in a lot of people losing their jobs, and then consequently not being able to keep up with the rising prices of the economy.
Most people, of course, want a permanent home, but certain restrictions make it very difficult to acquire one. One of them, as mentioned above, is the sky-high price of housing. Around 80% of people experiencing homelessness want more affordable housing options, but simply cannot access it. Furthermore, many also live with issues such as physical or mental health problems, addictions, etc., thus making it difficult for them to seek care, jobs, and other helpful opportunities. Similarly, access to food, particularly nutritious food, is a huge issue as well, as it also limits the opportunities that one can get, and deteriorates a person’s health over time. All challenges aside, access to shelter is one of the most major factors in the lives of people who are homeless, but the current infrastructure is not equipped to handle the large number of people who would like shelter. CBC states that, “an average of 40 people a night were told that there was no bed available for them.”. Unless the infrastructure is changed in a way to benefit those who need it, the homeless population will not have a safe foundation to base their lives on.
The government does have a plan in place to aid the homeless population, but the implementation takes time, and most likely will not be able to combat the problem. To combat homelessness, the Ontario Government has implemented plans such as the “24 Month Housing and Homelessness Recovery Plan'', which provides funding for affordable housing. Unfortunately, many are on the waiting list for subsidized housing, and waiting for just an apartment can take around 10 years.
Overall, the homeless situation in Toronto is amplified by a combination of factors, most notably the rising cost of living and housing. Although the government has plans to help, it is currently not effective enough to help the collective population of homeless people in Toronto.
References:
Researcher: Jessica Yao
Editor: Shivangi Kaur
Date published: February 11th 2023
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