Public Health and Safety 

This proposal is a plan to help unhoused people struggling with severe drug addiction or mental health issues get off the streets and into stable homes. Instead of making people wait years for affordable housing to open up, it creates a step-by-step pipeline to get them immediate medical care and a place to live.

Here is exactly how it works:

1. Immediate Stabilization Centers

• Quick Shelter and Medical Care: The city will turn empty city buildings or modular housing sites into immediate "supportive hubs."

• All-in-One Support: These centers will provide a safe place to stay alongside immediate medical care, mental health support, and social workers—all in one building.

2. Building Trust on the Streets

• No Forced Treatment: Forcing people into rehab rarely works and faces legal issues. Instead, teams of doctors, nurses, and social workers will go directly into parks and shelters.

• Meeting Basic Needs First: These teams will hand out food, medical care, and basic supplies with no strings attached. The goal is to build trust over time so people choose to enter voluntary treatment.

3. Fast-Tracking People into Regular Apartments

• Rent Top-Ups from the Government: To solve Toronto’s housing shortage, the provincial government will provide special rent supplements (about $800 to $1,200 a month).

• Bypassing Long Waitlists: These supplements will pay the difference so that people graduating from the stabilization centers can afford regular, private apartments right away, rather than waiting years on social housing lists.