Talking About Homelessness Sept 2025 SPT

The City of Toronto has a plan to open twenty new purpose-built shelters by 2033. This is great news, and will go a long way to solving the crisis of homelessness in our city! We know that the only solution to homelessness is housing. Shelters provide a vital step in people’s journey towards permanent, safe, secure, and affordable housing. Shelter residents can get on lists for housing, apply for rent benefits, and receive vital healthcare and social supports. Shelters, which can be built relatively quickly and efficiently with the option of later being turned into permanent housing, can also provide interim safety as we otherwise work to increase the supply of secure, affordable housing. However, not everyone is happy about the presence of homelessness or shelters in their neighbourhoods. Many people feel very real fear and anxiety at the prospect of shelters in their communities. These feelings are often rooted in misinformation, and it’s therefore important that we engage directly with these community members in combatting the stigma around homelessness. The fear and anxiety that many people feel can manifest in different ways, and can make it very hard to talk about the need for safe shelter and affordable housing. That’s why we’ve created this messaging guide to help organizations and individuals to develop strong, positive messaging when engaging and organizing with communities, groups, and individuals on homelessness and shelters. This guide can be applied to help you to develop presentations, workshops, media, social media, and stakeholder communications. It can also be used one-on-one, and in developing internal communications to combat misconceptions around homelessness among staff and volunteers. It also provides some first steps for organizing your own local group in support of shelter.