Toronto opens 2 surge capacity warming centres ahead of cold weather

Toronto has opened two surge capacity warming centres for unhoused people on Saturday evening ahead of extremely cold temperatures expected to grip the city from Sunday to Wednesday.

The warming centres, which opened at 5 p.m., are located at Cecil Community Centre, 58 Cecil St., east of Spadina Avenue and south of College Street, and Jimmie Simpson Recreation Centre, 870 Queen St. E., east of Broadview Avenue and north of Queen Street E.

"To help bring as many people as possible indoors during the extreme cold forecasted in the coming days, the City of Toronto is launching an early activation of its two surge Warming Centres, adding more street outreach and opening temporary contingency spaces in the shelter system in areas not traditionally used for sleeping," city spokesperson Russell Baker said in an email on Saturday.

People can walk into warming centres and do not need to call the city's central intake line to access the space, the city said.

"Should someone arrive at a centre to find that it is already at capacity, the City will assist with transportation to another Warming Centre that has space," the city said.

"Warming Centres give those who are vulnerable and may be experiencing homelessness a warm indoor place to rest and access meals, washroom facilities and referrals to emergency shelter and other community services," the city added.

Five warming centres, in addition to the two surge capacity ones, remain open, according to the city. They are:

• 136 Spadina Rd., south of Dupont Street.
• 81 Elizabeth St., behind City Hall. West of Bay Street, south of Dundas Street W.
• 12 Holmes Ave., off of Yonge Street, south of Finch Avenue E.
• 885 Scarborough Golf Club Rd., east of Markham Road, south of Ellesmere Road.
• Metro Hall, 55 John St., east of John St., north of Wellington Street W.

The city said it is dispatching additional Streets to Homes and partner outreach teams on Saturday to connect with people living outside and encourage them to come indoors. Outreach staff continue to hand out blankets, sleeping bags and warm clothing. 

If members of the public see someone who needs support, they are urged to call 311.

From Sunday to Wednesday, temperatures in Toronto "may be colder than those that have been seen the last several years," Environment Canada said on its website. 

That means parts of the GTA could see temperatures that feel as cold as –30 C with the wind chill.

A cold front moving across southern Ontario on Saturday is bringing along a very cold air mass, said Gerald Cheng, a meteorologist with Environment Canada. 

According to city data, there are 11,144 actively homeless people in Toronto.

On Thursday night, the city's shelter system provided accommodation to 11,685 people. As well, in December, an average of 114 people nightly were turned away from the city's shelter system due to lack of space.