Letter – Health Providers Against Poverty

Toronto Must Not Leave People Out In the Cold

Health care providers are advocating for the City of Toronto to provide adequate shelter space to keep people out of the cold and prevent unnecessary illness and deaths this winter.

HPAP’s Letter to Toronto City Councillors, by Drs. Michaela Beder and Michael Benusic, is listed on the Jan 18, 2016 Budget Committee meeting agenda.

Show your support for increased funding for shelters and warming centres in Toronto’s 2016 budget by signing this Petition to Mayor John Tory.

Letter to Toronto Councillors on Warming Centres Jan 11 2016.jpg

Toronto Should Invest in Poverty Reduction in the 2016 Budget

Civic leaders including HPAP Founder, Dr. Gary Bloch, joined in signing a letter to the Toronto Mayor and Council urging them to act on recommendations to advance the City’s Poverty Reduction Strategy.

The goal is to achieve concrete outcomes in 2016, including:

Providing supportive housing for 1,000 individuals and families and making rent affordable for 7,000 households at risk of homelessness
Providing access to subsidized childcare for 1,500 families
Freezing adult fares until a low-income transit pass is introduced in 2017
Ensuring that people delivering city services, either directly or through contractors, have decent, stable jobs
Creating opportunity for people with lived experience to guide and work in city programs to ensure relevance and effectiveness

See the news release and Toronto Start article for more information.

Health Care Providers Raise Concerns about George Street Revitalization

On Nov 3 2015, Toronto City Council will review plans for the George Street Revitalization (GSR). HPAP has joined 17 organizations and 113 health care providers in signing a Letter to Toronto City Council, outlining concerns around the potential impacts of the GSR.

Toronto City Council members are being asked to address the loss of shelter beds with the intended closure of Seaton House, and to provide a detailed plan on the location of replacement shelter beds and housing transitions that will be made during the GSR.