Hundreds of new winter beds in London aren't enough to shelter everyone that needs help

Hundreds of Londoners are hoping to find a place to stay warm as winter approaches — but even with an extra push from the city and crisis agencies, there won't be enough beds to accommodate everyone who needs help.

The Ark Aid Mission opened 20 of 30 new beds on Monday night, but had to turn away many who needed a place to sleep, said Sarah Campbell, head of the organization, which is headquartered in Old East Village.

"The heartbreaking part is, as we welcomed 20 people in, we turned away almost a hundred throughout the day who were seeking those same beds," Campbell told London Morning host Andrew Brown. 

Ark Aid Mission is hoping to open 90 new beds to address the city's need for emergency winter shelter beds, funded in part by the city. 

"It's heartbreaking," said Campbell. "Sadly, I believe that this winter, even if we opened everything we've got, the need is so great."

On Tuesday night, city politicians approved the opening of 120 beds in coming months.

Every year, the homeless crisis becomes more and more complex, said Kevin Dickins, the deputy city manager of social and health development.

"I think every year, it's unique to itself," said Dickins. "This year is going to be challenging just by the volume of individuals experiencing homelessness."

The city recommended four locations to open the emergency winter shelter beds, which includes:

• 15 beds at CMHA Coffee House, 371 Hamilton Rd.

• 10 overnight spaces at My Sisters' Place, 566 Dundas St.

• 30 beds at the Ark Aid Street Mission building, 696 Dundas St.

• 65 beds, 432 William St. 

Although some beds at the four locations will be available in December, others may not be ready until May 2024.

Despite the city's initiative to address the homelessness crisis, Dickins admits that there will still be people struggling with finding a place to live this winter.

"There's just not enough community resources and community beds in the city to address everyone's needs and so there will be people that, for periods of time throughout the winter or for the duration of winter, are going to be…living outdoors or in encampments."

A plan to put more than 100 people into the newly-shuttered Bob Hayward YMCA on Hamilton Road East fell through because not enough people were found to staff the location.