COVID-19 Ontario Coalition Against Poverty Letter Campaign
Use the copy below (make some edits as you need) to write John Tory and your city councilor to demand urgent action is taken to house and take care of Toronto’s growing homeless and underhoused people.
John Tory's email: mayor_tory@toronto.ca
Find your Councillor's email here: https://www.toronto.ca/city-government/council/members-of-council/
Dear Mayor Tory and Councillor [ ],
I am writing to you, gravely concerned about the impact that Coronavirus and resulting closures will have on the homeless and underhoused people of Toronto.
As my family and I are instructed to keep ourselves and others safe by stocking up on food and staying home, I am acutely aware of the many thousands of people who are unable to do so, and who will be shut out of emergency programs.
While many of the issues at play are long term and structural (the chronic underfunding of shelters, the long waitlists for affordable housing, the untenable rental market, the criminalization of drug-users and others, and more), some actions could be taken RIGHT NOW to lessen the impact that this pandemic will have on people who are homeless, and on our communities and city as a whole. Responding to these citizens now is in our best long term interests, especially with the looming possibility of more people pushed out of their homes as we’re still dealing with a housing crisis.
As you announced yourself, Toronto is in a state of emergency. The Ontario government has set aside money for you to put towards this crisis, and I urge you to act decisively to ensure that the city’s response to the COVID-19 protects vulnerable populations rather than leaving them behind.
In support of the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty, I demand:
Rapid and dramatic increase in shelter spaces, particularly motel or hotel rooms accessible to homeless people to ease overcrowding in existing emergency centres and allow for social distancing and physical isolation. The expansion must include new drop-in spaces to compensate for the closure of lunch programs, coffee shops, and municipal facilities like libraries and community centres which have eliminated infrastructure homeless people need for food, indoor space, and sanitation.
An immediate boost to social assistance rates to compensate for the loss of food programs, soup kitchens, and the cost of self-quarantining; extending coverage to people without immigration status.
Expanded access to safer opioid prescribing programs, overdose prevention sites and making witnessed injection and harm reduction support available at quarantine facilities; ensuring access to personal protective equipment at overdose prevention sites and working with people who use drugs to prevent further escalation in overdoses and overdose-related deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic.
People are getting sick, people are going to die. This pandemic will be absolutely devastating to Torontonians experiencing homelessness or about to experience homelessness unless you take action immediately. Frontline workers are demanding that hotel rooms be opened to house people through this crisis. For the safety of vulnerable communities, and for the public good, you must act NOW.
I look forward to hearing from you,
[Name]
[Address]
Optional: after receiving a reply from a city staffer, I sent this follow up (cc-ing the mayor and my councilor):
Hi [Name],
Thanks for your response. I appreciate that the city is moving quickly on this. What I'm hearing from front line workers is that the current responses seem to be focused on containing potential COVID-19 cases, rather than on prevention and on keeping homeless people safe during this crisis.
We are seeing Calgary, San Diego, and other cities start to open up hotel and motel rooms to house homeless individuals through this crisis. What an excellent idea, particularly given the urgency of this emergency when we don't have time to waste! There are thousands of rooms in downtown Toronto sitting empty, where vulnerable people could be sheltered tomorrow, where teams of harm reduction, mental health, and other workers could safely support them, and where they could engage in the kind of social distancing that we all need to be doing right now!
Please keep me posted,
[Name]
