Former church helps homeless during winter

The building of St. John the Divine continues to provide help and hope to its local community, even as its members have joined with other Anglicans to worship in a different spot.

Operating as a City of Toronto warming centre, the building in central Scarborough provided respite to 230 individuals experiencing homelessness over the course of last winter. St. John the Divine amalgamated with the parishes of St. Peter and St. Ninian in 2022 to form the Church of the Holy Wisdom, which meets at another site.

The city first approached the diocese about using the building in the summer of 2023. “We had this asset that was sitting unused, and which happened to be the perfect layout on a perfect piece of property to house a warming centre,” says Mac Moreau, the diocese’s director of property resources.

Warming centres are part of the City of Toronto’s winter services plan for people experiencing homelessness. The city opens them when temperatures drop to -5°C from Nov. 15 to April 15 each winter.

Along with immediate relief from the cold, clients can access showers, meals and a safe place to rest. City staff also connect clients with other social services in the community and refer them to available beds in the emergency shelter system.

“These sites are an essential support for our most vulnerable during really cold and tough winter months,” says Kate Richardson, the director of homelessness initiatives and prevention services with the City of Toronto.

“They are very effective in bringing people in from outdoors who might otherwise not come in, and really give us the opportunity to build that relationship and trust that allows us to encourage people to take advantage of the larger emergency shelter system and get people connected with services.”

Mr. Moreau says the diocese’s property committee saw the decision to use St. John’s building in this way as an opportunity to continue serving the local community and to live out the diocese’s mission.

“For the last several consecutive Synods, there’s been a strong discussion about how we can use our property and land to serve our mission. This was the perfect opportunity to be a solution to a crisis that continues to evolve in the City of Toronto but also throughout the other communities the diocese serves,” he says.

The city and the diocese signed a five-year lease, renewable for an additional five years. “We would plan to have a shelter site there for a minimum of five years and ideally for 10,” says Mr. Moreau.

That stability is welcome news for the city. Ms. Richardson says it can be challenging to find locations that meet clients’ needs. While many community agencies offer up space in their buildings, they typically still need to operate other programs on-site.

“One of the big factors is exclusive use,” she says. “These spaces need to remain open and available to our clients 24/7 when they are activated.”

Some of the other factors the city looks for are adequate washroom facilities and accessibility features like ramps and lifts. The geographic location needs to be accessible to clients, and there are certain zoning requirements that need to be met.

To make the St. John’s space suitable, the city did some upgrades before the winter. “There was some upgrading to fire extinguishers and alarms done and some additional lighting and outlets added, as well as upgrading the heating system,” says Ms. Richardson.

City staff also connected with neighbours before the new warming centre opened and puts plans in place for appropriate security and services on-site to support its clients.

“We do some community engagement to make sure that all of the residents and business neighbours in the community are aware of our presence, the services provided and why we’re there, and we have a pretty robust system in place to manage concerns, inquiries and complaints,” says Ms. Richardson.

Mr. Moreau says the diocese hasn’t received any negative response from neighbours, even though the building is in a residential neighbourhood. “All of the feedback has been positive, that we’re putting the property to use to serve our mission and ministry,” he says.

After the success of last winter, the city spent the summer doing some renovations and upgrades to St. John’s for the coming winter season, including safety features, an accessibility ramp and more shower and toilet facilities.

“We are looking to increase the capacity, depending on how the renovations go, which is very important considering that we have a lot of demand for our winter services,” says Ms. Richardson. “We’re always looking to make sure that we have access to those spaces, but that those spaces are also well resourced and supported.”

Building on the model of St. John the Divine, the diocese is considering whether other properties could be used to help address homelessness. The property committee plans to undertake a strategic review of all diocesan properties to see what other locations could meet this kind of need.

“Development is a big conversation right now, but development takes a long time, and it’s not a solution to a crisis, necessarily. We do have property that can help be a solution to this imminent crisis,” says Mr. Moreau.

Staff are working with the diocese’s insurance brokers and some parishes to create a framework by which other parishes could rent space for warming centres. “We have the opportunity to make use of vacant assets in a very missionally driven way, and we’re committed to doing that,” says Mr. Moreau.

In the meantime, as the City of Toronto gears up for another winter season, Ms. Richardson says her department is grateful for this partnership.

“I would definitely offer our gratitude and thanks, not only to the diocese but also to all of all of your members and everyone in the community,” she says. “We very much appreciate your partnership and support, and those of the local community as well. So thank you very much!”