The shelter operator says its lease is up in April and the city has offered no plan to relocate 130 youth in an already strained system
While the city plans to increase capacity in the base system along with its wind-down of temporary sites — not quite to pre-pandemic levels, but from two metres laterally between beds to 1.25 metres — Aston estimates that the closure would mean a 35 per cent reduction in youth shelter beds across Toronto. Youth shelters generally aid young people from age 16 to 24.
In recent years, more young people have been landing on Toronto’s streets, rising from an estimated population of 752 young people in January 2021 to 936 as of December 2022. On Jan. 16, for a one-night snapshot, the youth emergency system was 95.6 per cent full, with 263 beds reported as occupied while just 12 were unclaimed as of 4 a.m. It isn’t just youth, either — the broader system has faced what city staff describe as “unprecedented” pressures.
Following Aston’s public appeal, a city hall spokesperson declined to confirm future plans for the youth shelter, again citing negotiations underway — but speaking generally, said the city would advise staff and shelter occupants as sites are identified for “decommissioning,” then develop plans to relocate remaining occupants into other shelters or, where possible, housing.
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