By Karen Longwell – BlogTO
Advocates for people struggling with homelessness are raising the alarm on a deadly situation facing Toronto.
As the city plunges into a deep freeze, people living in precarious housing situations are being left, literally, out in the cold.
“It was -20C this morning, people can’t access shelter beds and the warming centres weren’t open. Even with warming centres opening tonight, the City’s plan is wholly inadequate,” states a release issued Friday from the Shelter and Housing Justice Network (SHJN).
On Jan. 6, the adult emergency shelter system was at 97 per cent capacity, and the family sector at 99 per cent capacity and there were 29 shelters classified as being an active COVID-19 outbreak. Residents lacked access to proper masks, and had low vaccination rates.