Toronto charity to open affordable housing for homeless women
Advocates say women make up the vast majority of the hidden homeless population
A Toronto charity is set to open a new affordable and supportive housing initiative for women experiencing homelessness.
St. Felix Centre, a non-profit that supports marginalized communities facing homelessness, will be opening Hope House in May 2025. The 31-unit building was funded by all three levels of government, with the building costing around $20 million.
Tarrah Seymour, an assistant manager with the centre, says the new home can help families for generations to come — and as a mother of two who has experienced homelessness, she's excited to see the impact it could make in the lives of unhoused women.
"It's in the name. It's going to give them the hope that they need," Seymour said.
"It's going to give them the support that they need and the family, maybe, they never really had."
Located at 25 Augusta Ave., behind St. Felix, the apartments will provide rent-geared-to-income long-term housing for women and children who will have access to support staff around the clock and services such as educational assistance and psychiatric care.
The project is one of the latest initiatives aimed at combatting the surge of homelessness in Toronto. City data shows there are about 12,000 people in the shelter system and 40 per cent of them are women.
According to the Women's National Housing and Homelessness Network, intimate partner or family violence is one of the main drivers of homelessness among women and girls.
Though spaces in Hope House are limited, the potential they carry is huge, said Brian Harris, executive director of St. Felix Centre.
"It's going to be so transformative," he said.
Harris says the path to stable housing could help mothers unite with their children who may have been taken away from them at birth because they were living in a shelter.
"That's very traumatic for new mothers. That's often a very motivating factor for women getting into housing is to be able to reconnect with their family … we're excited to be able to provide that opportunity," he said.
Advocates say initiatives like Hope House can be life-saving.
City data shows there were 135 deaths of people experiencing homelessness in the first half of 2024 — 19 per cent of whom were women, and four per cent of whom were transgender.
Numbers also show that the median age of death for homeless women dropped earlier this year compared to last year, from 43 years old to 36.
"They're dying … for no good reason," said Diana Chan McNally, a front-line community worker for the past 11 years and a fellow at Maytree Canada, a charity that focuses on social policy.
"We don't have enough resources for women. This is just a fact," she said. "Women's shelters are often packed to the brim. There isn't a lot of room or available space within them."
In a statement, a spokesperson for the city says it's collaborating with the non-profit housing sector to create long-term housing solutions.
"By 2030, the City aims to approve at least 10,000 new affordable rental and supportive homes for women and gender diverse people. This includes projects such as Hope House," the statement says.
Hidden homelessness impacts women most
Advocates say official statistics don't reflect the true number of unhoused women because they don't include hidden homeless women, those who couch-surf, find themselves in exploitative sleeping arrangements, stay in abusive relationships or otherwise fly under the radar.
About 14 years ago, Seymour was one of those women. She says she found herself living in her car for a month after separating from her partner, doing what she could to avoid sleeping in shelters while having three jobs.
"I left and found myself at rock bottom," she said.
Harris says there could be thousands of people who are part of the hidden homeless population, but women make up the vast majority of that group.
"Domestic abuse and intimate partner violence really plays into that because so many times women are stuck in this place where they're faced with an impossible choice," Harris said.
Chan McNally says women in these precarious or dangerous positions often become trapped.
"I've seen this time and time again that people are looking to get out, they're looking for safety and it simply does not exist for them," she said.
"Hope House will help. But … it is not nearly enough."
If you're in immediate danger or fear for your safety or that of others around you, please call 911. If you are affected by family or intimate partner violence, you can look for help through crisis lines and local support services.
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