Community Engagement Processes for Locating New Shelters and Related Services - Update

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The decision

2020-01-14 · Economic and Community Development Committee · amended

As filed

The Economic and Community Development Committee: 1. Directed the Deputy City Manager, Community and Social Services, in consultation with Shelter, Support and Housing Administration, Social Development, Finance and Administration, the Housing Secretariat, and the Toronto Community Housing Corporation, to report to the Economic and Community Development Committee in the third quarter of 2020, on steps required to end chronic homelessness (defined as people who have been homeless for more than 6 months) in Toronto and include: a.

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details on the status of chronic homelessness including but not limited to: 1. the number of people experiencing chronic homelessness in Toronto, including in the shelter system and in the respite system; and 2. the number of people experiencing chronic homelessness in Toronto and the greater Toronto region who have found housing, on an annual basis in the last five years. b. existing inter-governmental financial support for ending chronic homelessness; and c. recommendations on programmatic, staffing and budgetary changes required to end homelessness. 2. Directed the General Manager, Shelter, Support and Housing Administration to include a diversity component on the membership of the community liaison committees, in consultation with the local councillor, and ensure that any public awareness campaign material is offered in various languages.

On the agenda

As the city filed it

In 2017, Council approved a new community engagement process and a new approval process for locating emergency shelters. The new process was developed in response to a number of challenging shelter siting processes, in recognition that the existing process was not working well for communities, service providers or service users. Through an expert third party review, a new process was approved by Council in which the focus of the community engagement process is not on where services should be located, but on how to make those services successful in the community.

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This approach is consistent with a human rights based approach to housing and related services for vulnerable residents. Over the last 2 years, this new community engagement process has been applied to a number of emergency shelter and 24-hour respite site service locations. Overall, the process has been successful in providing less confrontational and more meaningful engagement with the surrounding community. Through an initial evaluation of the process, a number of areas for improvement have been identified to further enhance the community engagement process for new shelters and related services. This report provides background on the existing community engagement and siting process for shelters and related services, and outlines what improvements to the process are being made. This report also responds to direction from Council to report to the Economic and Community Development Committee on projects taking place in the Downtown East area involving City-funded services and facilities and how community engagement processes for those locations can be improved. As well, the report provides updates on key initiatives that support and strengthen cooperation between Shelter, Support and Housing Administration and Social Development, Finance and Administration to improve service coordination and strategic planning through the Downtown East Action Plan.

Staff recommended

The General Manager, Shelter, Support and Housing Administration and the Executive Director, Social Development, Finance and Administration recommend that: 1. The Economic and Community Development Committee receive this report for information.

On the record

The item as the City filed it

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