More families using Toronto homeless shelters as usage doubles since 2016: study | Globalnews.ca
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A study from the University of Calgary released Tuesday shows a concerning increase in the number of individuals and families using Toronto’s homeless shelters.
Data shows the number of overnight stays in the city’s shelters has more than doubled since 2016.
Specifically, the study shows a drastic increase from an average of around 4,000 people per night in 2016, to an average of almost 9,000 by mid-2023.
Even more shocking, the policy trends data revealed that by 2019, nearly half of the shelter users in Toronto were families.
The City of Toronto’s 2022 Shelter, Support and Housing Administration Report indicates the number of refugees and other asylum seekers staying in shelters each night increased by more than 2,000 people.
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Authors of the study out of Calgary say this explains the drastic increase in family shelter reliance.
“Prior to 2016, there was very little in the way of either growth or volatility in the total number of shelter stays,” the report said.
“Most stays in a shelter were by single adults, and there was only a modest growth in the total number of stays over the previous 10 years.”
Toronto’s 2022 shelter and housing report also explains a number of other issues impacting its shelter system.
The emergence of the highly contagious Omicron variant of COVID-19 strained staff members and capacity limits, the annual report stated.
In addition to the pressures felt by the city’s homeless shelters, food banks in Toronto are also experiencing a massive increase in demand.
Research from Daily Bread Food Bank suggests the number of users pre-pandemic was around 60,000 to 70,000 per month.
By August of 2023, however, monthly numbers were as high as 274,851 users.
Authors of the new study on Toronto’s homeless shelter use note that while other cities may not be experiencing this problem to the extent Toronto is, “with current trends, it is unlikely that other cities will be able to escape the problem for very long.”
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