Overnight shelters in Toronto provide temporary accommodation for more than 65,000 people annually. That’s almost double the number from 10 years ago. Children and families recorded the biggest increase. Almost 6,000 children are forced to live in homeless shelters each year. Some hostels are managed by the City of Toronto. Others are operated by private charities and receive government funding. Most provide dormitory-style accommodation – rows of bunk beds. Some families stay in suburban “welfare motels” where entire families are crowded into a single room. In the winter, some churches open their basements as part of “Out of the Cold” programs. Homeless people sleep on mats on the floor. The city’s homelessness disaster means that on many nights of the year Toronto’s homeless shelters are entirely full or at over capacity.

Michael Shapcott