Some St. Clair and Dufferin residents oppose plans for a youth homeless shelter
Others say they’re in favour of the shelter, which would support 50 young people
St. Clair and Dufferin residents are in disagreement regarding a proposed shelter for homeless youth.
Intended to serve 50 young people, aged 16 to 24, the shelter, which would open just south of the busy intersection, has prompted more than 2,100 people to sign a petition against it.
The petition claims that area residents were not consulted, and cites the shelter’s walking distance-proximity to schools, daycares and a public library among its concerns. The shelter would take a harm reduction approach, which opponents believe is a risk.
“Being in such close proximity to the shelter will inevitably impact these schools and their students, and create an environment that may not be conducive to learning or safety,” says the petition.
Housing advocate Lorraine Lam told CityNews that shelters are necessary.
“We are in a homeless crisis. People have nowhere to go. People don’t want people sleeping in parks. And yet, if we don’t want shelters either and there’s no housing, what options are left?” she said.
“There are lots of neighbourhoods that have existing shelters already that don’t have an issue with dangerous homeless people, which, again, is a stereotype that I think is really dangerous and misinformed.”
The shelter is set to open in 2027. Others in the neighbourhood told CityNews that they’re in favour of it. “I do believe as a society we need to make space to help those who need help,” said one resident.
According to Youth Without Shelter, there are between 1,500 and 2,000 young people experiencing homelessness in Toronto.
Carly Lewis is a journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Times and the New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, Wired, Interview Magazine, Pitchfork, Elle, and Maclean’s, where she is a contributing editor. Her work has been recognized by the National Magazine Awards and the Digital Publishing Awards. She reports on city life, culture—including what people do online—politics, art and crime. She received the Dave Greber Freelance Writers Award for “The Murder of Ashley Wadsworth,” an investigative feature about a Canadian teenager who was killed by a man she met on social media, published by Maclean’s.
