[HPN] 120% increase in homeless children in Toronto?

[William Tinker]

  By Jack Lakey
 Toronto Star City Hall Bureau

 The number of homeless people in Toronto continues to grow, particularly
families with children, says the city's first annual report card on
 homelessness.

The number of children living in city shelters grew by 120 per cent between
1988 and 1998, from 2,700 to almost 6,000. The total number of people in the
system grew by 33 per cent, from 22,000 to 28,000.
The report card links the crisis directly to senior governments, which got
out of the business of building affordable housing and cut welfare rates by
21 per cent.

Until Ottawa offers more support for affordable housing, Queen's Park
increases money for shelter in social assistance payments and poor people
can find good jobs, the situation will deteriorate, the report says.

``Homelessness in Toronto is getting worse, not better - particularly for
families with children,创 says the 70-page report, prepared by city staff
from many departments.

``Toronto磗 economy is improving, but the people most vulnerable - people
with the lowest incomes - are not reaping the benefits. The number of jobs
is increasing, but the issues of underemployment continue to grow.

``There is growing evidence of a gap between rich and poor families. Many
new jobs simply do not pay enough to make ends meet.创

Shirley Hoy, Toronto's commissioner of social services, said the findings
are similar to those released a year ago by Mayor Mel Lastman's task force
on homelessness.

The report card was completed to determine if the situation had improved or
worsened since then, and to measure progress on the task force
recommendations.
The troubling difference one year later, Hoy said, is that ``the trend line
is still going up, in terms of the need out there. The biggest need, still,
is from the kids and families.创

The key findings include:

Toronto has a large number of people living in poverty at a time when rents
 are rising and the supply of affordable rental housing is falling.
More people are turning to emergency shelters. The fastest growing group of
shelter users is now two-parent families with children.

There is still a serious lack of community mental health supports for
 people
who have been discharged from institutions.

Federal and provincial governments have each taken some action to reduce
homelessness, but much of the response is limited to funding services for
people who are already homeless.

Senior governments must do more to address the root causes of
homelessness -
poverty and the lack of affordable housing.

Mayor Lastman lauded the report card, noting while the city has done
everything
it
was asked to do by the task force, the number of homeless people continues
to grow and more than 56,000 people are waiting for assisted housing.

``We cannot solve the homeless situation ourselves,创 the mayor said. ``But
it can be solved by three levels of government working hand in hand with
community groups and business.

`There are encouraging signs,创 Lastman said, noting Ottawa earmarked $753
million to improve shelters, fix low-income housing and fund programs for
the homeless across Canada.

``These are great initiatives, but to really solve the homeless problem, we
need housing. We need infrastructure to build affordable rental housing for
the homeless.创

Councillor Jack Layton, who chairs Toronto's advisory committee on homeless
and socially isolated people, said the report card underscores the need to
help poor families find affordable housing.

``The only variable that磗 got better is we磛e added more mats and shelter
beds, which really shouldn磘 be regarded as a success,创 said Layton (Don
River).
``Things are heading in a seriously dangerous direction, especially for
families.创

While single males still make up the largest number of hostel users, the
report notes the number of families entering shelters is still growing
annually.
Single-parent families continue to comprise the majority of family shelter
users, but couples with children are now the fastest growing group coming
in, the report says. A growing number of the kids are less than a year old.

Total admissions to Toronto hostels grew by 75 per cent between 1988 and
1998, with the sharpest rise after 1994. The province stopped building
social housing in 1995.

The report also says families using city shelters are staying longer, an
  average of 1.5 months in 1998.