Item - 2019.PH7.7

The Planning and Housing Committee:

1.  Received the report (June 19, 2019) from the Executive Director, Housing Secretariat for information.

This report responds to the Planning and Housing Committee's request to bring forward an aggressive and targeted strategy for supportive and transitional housing in Toronto.  Since February 2019 City staff have been working closely with the Toronto Alliance to End Homelessness (TAEH) and members of the supportive and transitional housing sector to discuss options to address the shortage of supportive housing in Toronto.

On June 5th, 2019 the City and TAEH jointly hosted a supportive charrette to discuss options to how to remove barriers to increase supportive housing in the City.  A pre-event survey was sent to ask supportive housing providers to identify short, medium and long-term opportunities to increase supportive housing in the City.  Together over 40 participants discussed ideas to increase supportive housing supply in the City.

A portion of the charrette also focused on how modular housing could play a role in addressing supportive housing needs.  A guest speaker, Mariner Janes, Program Manager from PHS Community Services in Vancouver, joined the group to share the operator perspective on introducing modular housing.  Participants supported a modular housing approach to address short and medium needs in the sector while emphasizing the need to create permanent pathways to housing. 

The City will incorporate a supportive housing strategy into the HousingTO 2020-2030 Action Plan in the fall.  Staff are working closely with TAEH to summarize the ideas coming out of the June 5th charrette and options for developing modular housing solutions in the City.