Article by Ashley Baez
Photo credit Samantha Lui
On July 31st, the city of Toronto entered stage 3 of reopening in response to COVID-19. While many Torontonians celebrate stage 3 of reopening, individuals experiencing homelessness continue to face the systemic barriers that have cost them their basic safety and security before and during the pandemic.
During the first stage of the pandemic, emergency orders were put in place by the government of Ontario to protect individuals from the virus. This included the closures of non-essential businesses, public places, and restrictions on social gatherings. For our Torontonians experiencing homelessness, this meant they needed to rely on city and non-profit shelters for their basic necessities like food, a bed to sleep on, and washrooms to use.
However, how can the city aid our homeless population when they’ve been dealing with issues of overcrowded shelters for years? How can the city aid our homeless population when they now have to reduce the amount of beds occupied in these already overcrowded spaces due to the pandemic? Where do all of these people go?
For this reason, many individuals have had to resort to sleeping in tents throughout the city. They had no access to washrooms since most businesses and public places were closed or restricted. This also led to many local community organizations and businesses to begin donating what they could in support. Toronto Public Library (TPL) also helped out by converting their libraries into food banks during the emergency lockdown.
“Our biggest concern is how to stay safe during COVID-19, but when you’re experiencing homelessness it’s really difficult to focus on something like that. You have so many immediate concerns,” says Marie, a community librarian for shelters on behalf of TPL.
“You have so many short-term problems that are really pressing, whether it’s finding employment, an affordable apartment, dealing with a legal issue, and trying to find food. When I’m talking to people, those are still the most pressing concerns. When you're homeless, you’re in crisis mode all the time, and that continues to be true during a pandemic,” says Marie.
As a community librarian for shelters during stages one and two of reopening, Marie had been aiding individuals experiencing homelessness remotely. The two shelters she has been working with, referred individuals to her. At that point, she is able to provide them with community resources and information to assist them in their process of retaining their basic necessities.
Based on her experience, most of the cases she manages have entered the homelessness spectrum due to renovictions, sudden health issues, or sudden accidents. According to Now Toronto’s Renters Survey, which included 2100 Torontonians, 27 per cent had dealt with evictions. Out of those 27 per cent, 20 per cent had been evicted due to major renovations.
The Canadian Civil Liberties Association has continued to advocate for the those experiencing homelessness during COVID-19 by taking the city of Toronto to court for the shelter crisis. They demand that the city procures facilities that can house all who are in need of shelter. They also find that it’s important that all of these facilities have enough space to allow physical distancing measures to be instilled.
If you would like to help the cause, here are some tips:
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Stop the stigma surrounding homelessness, and educate yourself and others on the systemic causes of homelessness
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Advocate for affordable housing
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Donate to food banks (preferably monetary donations)
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Support people experiencing homelessness, or that are on the spectrum however you can