Toronto hospital to open permanent supportive housing apartments for homeless people

A new housing project for those who live on the streets and frequently end up in the emergency room is set to welcome its first residents in Toronto this month, supported by one of the largest hospital networks in Canada.

The University Health Network (UHN) has partnered with Fred Victor, a non-profit housing organization, to provide 51 permanent homes with health and social supports to homeless people who use its hospitals the most. The hope is that the project will ease pressures on hospitals while also providing stable care for vulnerable individuals.

"What we're trying to build is this continuum of care out from the hospital, where people can be discharged to a safe and stable setting that is their home," Dr. Andrew Boozary, the executive director of the Gattuso Centre for Social Medicine at UHN, said in an interview.

"The treatment for the homelessness crisis is housing and, beyond housing, there needs to be these health and social supports in place."

The project, named Dunn House, is officially opening Thursday, with residents expected to move in over the coming weeks and months.

UHN has earmarked all 51 apartments in the building for those who use its hospitals frequently and were willing to move there, Boozary said. The homes are set to help unhoused individuals with complex medical and social needs.

Some people who were set to move in have died before the project's opening, which highlights the need for such a space, Boozary said.

"We lost a number of people who've been coming in and out of the hospital at UHN in hopes of trying to help them move in, but they didn't live to see this day," he said.

"But this is the reality of the mortality and morbidity facing people who are unhoused."

Toronto, like many communities large and small across the country, is dealing with a surge in homelessness, driven in part by the high cost of living, mental health struggles and the opioid addiction crisis.

The city's shelters are full, with some 12,000 people. There are also several hundred people living on the streets, in parks or in encampments across Toronto.

Boozary will be one of the physicians working in the new space, which was built on a hospital-owned parking lot.

The modular, four-storey building will have fully furnished studio apartments with a kitchenette, living area, bedroom and bathroom. And 15 of the units will be barrier free for those who use mobility devices. There will also be a health clinic inside the building, Boozary said.

The residents will have a variety of community-based supports available in addition to doctors, including psychiatric help, case management support, justice help, harm reduction resources and prepared meals.