Responding to Encampments & The Growing Crisis of Homelessness

Responding to Encampments

Over the past few weeks, several community members have reached out with concerns about the growing number of encampments in our neighbourhood. For many, especially those who come from countries where homelessness is rare or hidden, encountering people living rough can be jarring, even frightening. I understand this discomfort—especially as a local parent myself—and I remember a time before COVID when this wasn’t something we regularly saw in Willowdale.

But the reality today is different. As we shared in a previous newsletter:

• More than 15,000 people were experiencing homelessness in Toronto as of October 2024—more than double the number from 2021.

• Over 1,600 people were living outdoors.

• Each night, the city’s shelter system serves 9,000–10,000 individuals and is often at or over capacity.

• The most common reasons for homelessness include income loss, mental health challenges, relationship breakdowns, relocation, and unsafe housing conditions.

  
  

These numbers reflect not only local trends but a broader crisis across Ontario and Canada. Contributing factors include the delayed rollout of the Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit (COHB) in 2024, ongoing shortages of affordable housing, and significant gaps in mental health and addiction supports.

Many of us wish there was a quick and simple solution. But homelessness is a symptom of complex and overlapping system failures—housing, income supports, health care, and more. Addressing it will require coordinated action and funding from all three levels of government.

What We Do Locally

When my office receives calls about encampments in Willowdale, we take the concerns seriously. Here's how we respond:

1. Engagement and Outreach

   We contact the City’s Encampment Office, which dispatches outreach teams. These teams offer shelter space (if available), access to health and social services, water, and cooling centre information, especially important on hot summer days.

2. Site Clean-Up

   When someone accepts help and moves to a shelter, a cleanup crew removes debris while ensuring that critical personal items, such as identification, are preserved.

   
   

While some individuals are ready to accept support, others are not, often due to personal trauma, shelter conditions, or deep mistrust of institutions. Building trust takes time and patience, and we continue to follow up to ensure those staying in our neighbourhood receive ongoing support.

Are Encampments Legal?

You may have heard about a new provincial law—Bill 6, the Safer Municipalities Act—that gives cities and police more power to remove encampments. Here's what it means for Toronto and why the situation is more complex than it may seem.

Is it illegal to live in an encampment?

Not always. Canadian courts have ruled that if there aren’t enough shelter beds available, it can be a violation of someone’s rights to force them out of a tent or encampment. This was made clear in a 2023 Ontario Superior Court of Justice ruling in Waterloo.

What does Bill 6 change?

Passed on June 5, 2025, Bill 6 gives police and cities more authority to remove people from encampments in cases where there is:

• Public drug use

• Trespassing or safety concerns

People who don’t leave when ordered can now face:

• Fines up to $10,000

• Up to 6 months in jail for repeated violations

So what’s the city doing?

Even with these new powers, the City of Toronto is not doing large-scale encampment clearings. That’s because:

• There aren’t enough shelter spaces for everyone who is living outside, which means removing people could result in a court challenge.

• If one site is cleared, people often just move to another, which doesn’t solve the problem.

Instead, the city is focusing on outreach and support, connecting people to services, offering shelter when available, and working to build trust with those living rough.

What’s really needed?

This is a Canada-wide challenge that requires all levels of government to step up collaborative efforts. We need broader, systemic changes, including:

• Increased shelter funding for asylum seekers and refugees

• Expanded access to low-barrier, publicly funded addiction treatment

• More affordable and supportive housing

• Exploration of compassionate, court-reviewed forced treatment for severe mental illness and addiction (currently in place in B.C., Alberta, and New York City)

• Harsher penalties for drug traffickers

• Raising OW and ODSP rates to reflect the true cost of living

Safety and Compassion

Some community members have raised concerns about public drug use or disruptive behaviour near encampments. These are serious concerns. No one should feel unsafe in their own neighbourhood. At the same time, it’s important we avoid dehumanizing those who are living in difficult and often traumatic circumstances.

• If you ever witness a life-threatening situation, call 9-1-1.

• If you witness a mental health crisis that is non-life-threatening, call 2-1-1 and request the Toronto Community Crisis Service for a specialized, non-police response.

• If you encounter any encampments, please call 3-1-1 to provide the necessary details, ensuring that resources are dispatched and the city can respond as described above. You can also inform my office, so we can monitor the response and situation.

There are no easy or instant fixes, but that doesn’t mean we give up. Together, we can work toward a community that is both safe and compassionate, one that refuses to accept this crisis as the "new normal" and instead pushes for the long-term changes we need.

Thank you to everyone who has reached out with concerns, questions, and suggestions. Your engagement helps shape a more informed and responsive community.

The Growing Crisis of Homelessness

Homelessness is not just the absence of shelter, it's the result of deep, systemic failures in housing, health care, mental health, income support, and the justice system. The shelter system serves as the last resort for people when no other safety net is available.

In October 2024, the City of Toronto conducted its sixth Street Needs Assessment (SNA)—a crucial point-in-time count and survey of people experiencing homelessness across the city. This assessment, required by Reaching Home, Canada’s federal homelessness strategy.

Click Here to view the full report. The report was done collaboratively with community partners in the homelessness and allied sectors. This report provides key highlights of the main findings of the SNA, which directly inform Homelessness Services Capital Infrastructure Strategy (HSCIS) and Toronto Shelter and Support Services (TSSS)’s upcoming Five-Year Strategic Plan. Here is a summary:

The 2024 SNA revealed an alarming rise in homelessness in Toronto:

• More than 15,000 people were experiencing homelessness, more than double the number from 2021 (7,300).

• Over 1,600 people were living outdoors.

• Every night, the shelter system supports 9,000–10,000 people, operating at or beyond capacity.

  
  

This increase reflects not just local trends but a wider crisis seen across Ontario and Canada. Contributing factors include:

• The delayed flow of Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit (COHB) funds between April and October 2024, which slowed shelter move-outs and blocked new admissions.

• The ongoing shortage of affordable housing and unmet health care needs.

  
  

Insights from the Survey

The survey responses highlight the complex challenges people face:

• The most common reasons for losing housing were lack of income, leaving a community or relocating, relationship breakdowns, mental health challenges, and unsafe housing conditions.

• The most frequently cited solution to both prevent and end homelessness was access to Rent-Geared-to-Income (RGI) housing—a clear call for more deeply affordable housing options.

• Mental health issues were the most common health concern (reported by 44%), followed by illness or medical conditions (26%) and substance use (25%).

• 64% of respondents reported one or more health challenges, with multiple challenges more common among people who are chronically homeless.

• 75% said they need help accessing a family doctor or general health care, while many also need support with food security, nutrition, and mental health services.

Who is Most Impacted?

The results show that certain communities continue to be overrepresented among those experiencing homelessness:

• Indigenous Peoples make up only 3% of Toronto’s population but represent 9% of those experiencing homelessness, with even higher overrepresentation among those living outdoors.

• Racialized communities, especially Black Torontonians, are disproportionately impacted: while 10% of Toronto’s population identifies as Black, 59% of respondents experiencing homelessness identified as Black.

• The share of people identifying as 2SLGBTQ+ has nearly doubled since the last survey, with over 20% of respondents identifying as part of this community.

  
  

What has changed since October 2024?

October 2024:

• 6,350 refugee claimants accommodated (as of Oct 23, 2024) 

• 528‡ encampments city-wide (as of Oct 25, 2024)

July 2025 Update:

• 3,734 refugee claimants accommodated (as of July 3, 2025) 

• 301‡ encampments city-wide (as of June 27, 2025)

  
  

The Path Forward

Homelessness in Toronto continues to grow because of the widening gap between incomes and housing costs, compounded by unmet physical and mental health needs. Exiting homelessness has become increasingly difficult without housing allowances, rent subsidies, or stable, affordable housing.

The City is using the results of this assessment to shape its upcoming Five-Year Strategic Plan on Homelessness and to strengthen ongoing efforts. However, real progress requires a coordinated, multi-sectoral, and intergovernmental approach to address the root causes of homelessness, rather than just its symptoms. This requires all of us to engage higher levels of government to address gaps in housing, mental health and healthcare. The extremely low levels of support for Ontario Works and ODSP also play a role in people's ability to survive in our province.