Toronto shelters turned away about 273 people each night in June, new data shows

An average of 273 people a night were told there was no bed available for them in Toronto homeless shelters in June — a new record high for the city, newly released data shows.

Homeless advocates tell CBC Toronto they believe the number is very concerning and believe the number may be an undercount. Many are calling for more shelter beds, permanent and affordable housing, an increase in Ontario Works rates and rent control for all new tenants. 

The data is from the city's central intake, a telephone service that offers referrals to emergency shelter, other overnight accommodation and information about homelessness services. It can be found on the city's Shelter System Requests for Referral page, which lists monthly average data from the city since June 2021 on the number of callers who are "unmatched to shelter" at the end of the day.

This past June, the "average daily number of unmatched individual callers" was 273.5, a new high up from 219.9 in May, when the average first exceeded 200. The spike in numbers followed the city's announcement on May 31 that it would refer asylum seekers to federal programs and services, saying its shelter system was at capacity and calling for more funding from Ottawa.

"Close to 300 individual callers seeking a bed are left unmatched for shelter space each night – 45 per cent of whom are refugees," the city said in an email on Sunday. 

A. J. Withers, an activist who has studied the Toronto shelter system extensively, said the number is likely higher than reported because the city doesn't include families in its count of "unmatched individual callers."

"This crisis in the shelter system is worsening, which is is deeply concerning," they said.

"There are hundreds of people every night who cannot get into the shelter system, and we know that many people give up. That number also represents a lot more people who stopped calling. It means that many people are sleeping outside.

"The city has basically abandoned its most vulnerable people. And it's shameful."

Earlier this month, the city said in an email that it has "more shelter beds per capita than any other large Canadian city." But despite adding more than 1,000 new shelter spaces in the last year, the system remains "at capacity most nights."

Withers said the city needs to open about 2,000 shelter beds immediately to try to meet the need.

A combination of rising rents, a lack of rent control for new tenants, rising food prices and inflation are all making life unaffordable in the city, Withers said. All three levels of government are to blame and could make different choices to improve the lot of unhoused people, they added.

June's record-high number comes as the city is working to find lodgings for ayslum seekers. Last week, Black-led organizations stepped in and found shelter for the asylum seekers mainly in two churches in North York. The asylum seekers were sleeping on city sidewalks downtown outside a homeless support centre as different levels of government found over funding for shelters. 

In a statement on Friday, the city said it has taken "swift action" to secure emergency accommodations for the asylum seekers. The city said it has secured hotel rooms and it is moving the asylum seekers in, with the aim of increasing lodging capacity for a total of 250 individuals, as per direction from city council.