Item - 2019.EC9.2

The Economic and Community Development Committee:

1.  Received the report (October 22, 2019) from the General Manager, Shelter, Support and Housing Administration for information.

This report responds to City Council's request to conduct consultations with operators of City-funded shelters, respite and drop-in centres, program participants, community stakeholders and menstrual equity advocates such as the Period Purse, on the access, distribution, the real costs of menstrual products and the feasibility of providing such products free of charge to low-income menstruators in Toronto.

Toronto's emergency shelter system serves equity-seeking groups including women, transgender and non-binary individuals. All programs must meet the operating requirements set out in both the Toronto Shelter Standards (TSS) and the purchase of service contracts, and they are evaluated using a quality assurance review process. Both the Toronto Shelter Standards (TSS) and 24-Hour Respite Site Standards (TRS) require service providers to provide menstrual hygiene products to their clients.

This report describes the results of consultations with City-funded shelters, 24-hour respite sites, drop-ins, and menstrual equity advocates on the access, distribution and cost of menstrual hygiene products. Funding in the amount of $222,359 is included in SSHA's 2020 base budget, subject to approval through the 2020 budget process, for the provision of menstrual hygiene products to individuals using these services. SSHA will allocate the funding to increase access to free menstrual products for users of City-funded shelters, 24-hour respite sites and 24-hour drop-ins.