The redevelopment of George Street and the replacement of Seaton House with a new long-term care facility for vulnerable elderly people will not leave homeless Torontonians out in the cold, Mayor John Tory contends.

A number of advocates for the homeless have suggested that the planned closure of Seaton House in 2017 will leave many of the people who occupy the 543-bed shelter without a place to go but Tory told CP24 that he is certain that the necessary work is being done to provide shelter space for displaced Seaton House residents during and after the construction of the new facility.

“I think you can be safe in the assumption that we are not going to tear down a shelter that badly needs to be replaced,” he said. “There is a transition plan and the elements of it are set out so we don’t have people left with nowhere to go.”

A staff report that was approved by city council in November calls for the acquisition of six new shelter spaces, two of which would be temporary, to house Seaton House residents.

The shelter spaces, which would cost the city an estimated $40 million to acquire and another $34.4 million to renovate, would each have between 90 and 110 beds and together would make up for the loss of shelter spaces from the closure of Seaton House.

The city is yet to release details about where those shelter spaces will be located, though, prompting some homeless advocates to worry about the less fortunate either falling through the cracks or being sent to far-away facilities in the suburbs.

“It is extremely unlikely that they are going to succeed in finding these places and it is even more unlikely that they are going to find viable, sustainable places located in realistic and survivable areas of the city,” Ontario Coalition Against Poverty organizer John Clarke told CP24.com on Tuesday. “Seaton House is a terrible institution in many ways and if we really had accessible and reasonable alternatives we would put the lock on the door ourselves with pleasure but until that happens and until there are proper alternatives the demand has to be don’t close it down.”

Condition of shelter described as ‘embarrassing’

Seaton House first opened in 1931 and has been located at its current home on George Street since 1959.

Speaking with CP24 on Monday, Tory said the condition of the shelter has deteriorated under years of neglect to the point that it is “embarrassing” and not up to the standard any member of the public would accept.

Clarke, however, told CP24.com that he sees the plan to provide shelter to displaced Seton House residents as “extremely, extremely dubious,” placing the entire project in a negative light.

“It is much easier to close shelters than it is to find replacements,” he said. “The Hope shelter closed in April at College and McCaul and only now are they looking to possibly replace some of the beds.”

Timeline may be ambitious

While the current plan is to demolish Seaton House and to begin construction on a new facility that will rise in its place sometime in 2017, Coun. Kristyn Wong-Tam told CP24.com that the timeline may be “ambitious” given that the project still hasn’t been funded.

Furthermore, Wong-Tam said the city will not go ahead with the demolition of the facility until there is a solid transition plan in place that includes new shelter spaces to accommodate displaced residents.

“The city doesn’t have an evil plan to bus people to the suburbs,” Wong-Tam said. “We are trying to take care of the people and the City of Toronto is not in any way going to turn its back on its responsibility to provide care.”

The plans for the revamped Seaton House include a long-term care home with 378 beds for vulnerable elderly residents, an emergency shelter for men with 100 beds and an affordable housing component.

If eventually built, Wong-Tam said the new Seaton House would be the first long-term care facility for the homeless ever built in Toronto.

“There has never been a purpose-designed building, long-term care anyways, where your target audience is homeless people,” she said. “Nobody has done this.”

Wong-Tam plans to meet with Finance Minister Bill Morneau on Wednesday and lobby him for federal funding for the revitalization of Seaton House and the acquisition of new shelter spaces to accommodate displaced residents. .

A staff report in the spring estimated that City of Toronto will ultimately need 15 new shelters to address overcrowding in some of its facilities and the displacement of residents from others, including Seaton House, that will need to be closed in the coming years.

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