Extreme cold increases calls to declare public health crisis

Councillor wants warming centres open 24 hours

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.

Most of Ontario was under extreme cold warnings late last week, with frigid temperatures presenting greater risks for those without proper shelter.

Calls to keep warming centres open around the clock in Toronto have been growing, with community workers and medical providers saying the city policy to open them once temperatures reach -15 C, or -20 C with wind chill, is cruel, not based in evidence and could be causing preventable cold-related injuries.

The centres open at 7 p.m. on the day an alert is issued and stay open until noon on the day an alert ends.

Coun. Alejandra Bravo — who helped introduce a motion that recommends the city provide 24-7 indoor warming locations until April 15 — said a lack of available spaces to take shelter from the cold means those experiencing homelessness are taking refuge in unsuitable public spaces.

“We’re in a situation where public libraries, the transit system, 24hour restaurants, all manners of buildings people can access are actually de facto shelter spaces right now,” said Bravo.

“They’re showing up in emergency departments, putting a huge strain on emergency departments simply because they want to get inside ... that’s not a recipe for the health of anyone or social harmony.”

In Hamilton, the city said it is reevaluating its cold response policy after “a realized gap” in its winter response services in December, when recreation centres used as warming centres were closed for staff holidays, as well as increased demand for shelter spaces.

Hamilton city council voted in January to spend an expected $415,000 to add daily overnight warming spaces and keep them open until the end of March.

However, Rob Mastroianni, manager of homelessness and housing support, said the 21 available spaces at the Hamilton’s only coed overnight drop-in centre have generally been at capacity in recent days. As a result, users have to be cycled in and out every hour, he said.

In St. Catharines, outreach worker Emily Spanton said options for homeless individuals are limited.

The city’s only warming centre runs from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily, she said, and there aren’t enough shelter beds or overnight emergency shelter spaces to accommodate hundreds of unhoused residents.

At the city’s breakfast program for unhoused individuals recently, Spanton said she attended to many people with frostbite, including one man whose toe came off when she changed his socks.

“It was fully blackened,” she said. “He told me that he was considering breaking into an abandoned building just to stay warm.”

Adriana Di Stefano, a Toronto doctor and member of Health Providers Against Poverty, said coldrelated injuries like the one Spanton saw are preventable, and can be traumatic for people experiencing homelessness.

“The solution seems very simple: provide shelter, provide warming centres, provide supportive housing, provide long-term housing,” she said.