Councillors in Toronto are set to consider keeping warming centres open 24-7 for the rest of the winter amid growing calls for homelessness to be declared a public health crisis in the city.
Advocates have increasingly been asking to keep warming centres open around the clock, saying the city policy to open them once temperatures reach minus-15 is cruel, not based in evidence and could be causing preventable cold-related injuries.
Councillor Alejandra Bravo, who helped introduce a motion that recommends the city provide 24-7 indoor warming locations until April 15, says a lack of places to take shelter from the cold means those experiencing homelessness are taking refuge in unsuitable public spaces.
The city’s daily data on shelter occupancy indicates 99 per cent of warming centre spaces were occupied on Friday when an extreme cold warning was in effect, with only one vacant space citywide.
City spokesperson Alex Burke says Toronto’s four warming centres don’t turn anyone away and staff will facilitate referrals to other shelter spaces if a location is at capacity.
The Ontario Human Rights Commission expressed concern Friday about what it called the “significant lack of cold weather services in Toronto and across the province,” and called on all levels of government to act.
Hospital network Unity Health Toronto said last month it has seen an increase in cold-related injuries like hypothermia and frostbite this winter, as well as from strategies used to survive outside like sleeping in unsafe areas.
The discussion on extending warming-centre hours is set to get underway on Tuesday.