LETTER TO Nick Mantas, Ward 22

Scarborough-Agincourt Constituency Office

3601 Victoria Park Ave, Suite 406

Toronto, ON M1W 3Y3

Telephone: 416-321-2788

Hello Nick Mantas,

I am writing in my capacity as a member of the community group Voices 4 Unhoused Liberation (Voices) to let you know that the decision to transform the Delta Hotel shelter into a refugee shelter will cause great harm to its current residents. We have been informed that you refused to vote for a lease extension unless the Delta was transitioned to a refugee shelter.

We are writing to you to alert you to Voices adamant objection to this decision. Such decisions that disregard the well being of poor and unhoused people in the city reflect an attitude of hatred towards the poor.

For almost 2 years now, Voices have been doing out-reach at the Delta and have been supporting residents who face a continual transgression of their dignity and rights.

We are all well aware of the refugee crisis faced by the city. We are also well aware that the city of Toronto has been in a housing crisis for decades which is only getting worse. The cost of living is skyrocketing and the ability of poor people in the city to survive is becoming even more precarious. The three levels of government have not shown any political will to create safe, accessible, affordable housing to its most marginalized members. As a result, people are becoming unhoused and have no recourse but to make their semi-permanent homes in the shelter system and on the streets. 

The Delta is one of the only harm reduction shelters in the city that accepts trans residents, where couples can stay together, and that accepts animals. That the Delta provides private rooms has made it possible for a modicum of stability for the residents. These services are important within the current spectrum of shelters available in the city and should not be taken away. 

While the TSSS has claimed that no-one will be forcibly moved from the Delta in the process of transition, given Homes First past record on handing out unjust service restrictions -  that is the eviction of a client for a rules infraction from 3 days to permanent -  Voices cannot take their word at face value. We are keeping a close watch as to a coming increase in the use of service restrictions and other forms of discharge from the Delta as a tool in the transition. Already, we have anecdotal evidence suggesting that this is indeed taking place.

Unjust service restriction of residents is one of the issues that Voices deal with on a regular basis. Such service restrictions are given out freely for minor infractions, for made up reasons, for complaining or defending oneself. There is no effective conflict resolution or de-escalation utilized by a poorly trained and precarious shelter staff. This harm is made worse by the lcak of an accessible effective appeals process. While service restricted residents are supposed to receive a referral to another shelter, many people end up back on the street. Often people’s belongings are lost, thrown out, and/or stolen in the process. 

Delta residents face being shunted off to a congregate shelter setting which will undermine the progress residents have made. Once moved, they will lose their community, resources, belongings, and access to supports. If they have a housing worker, they will have to start from square one again. They will be sent to a different neighbourhood where they don’t necessarily know anyone or have access to the supports they need. No one’s life should be impacted in such a manner by a system that is mandated with their care.

After living under constant threat of losing your shelter and the continual infractions of one’s dignity and rights, many unhoused people prefer to live on the streets than in the Toronto shelter system. Under these existing conditions, to further displace people who the city has failed over and over again, is unconscionable.

Everyone agrees that refugees need to be properly resourced according to their human rights. We just don’t believe that the most vulnerabilized population should be the one’s to make the necessary sacrifices. The city should look to other more affluent sectors to find the resources to address the shelter needs of refugees.

Under our No Homeless Evictions!! campaign, Voices strongly objects to the transition of the Delta Hotel Shelter to a shelter exclusive to refugees. There is no objection to serving the refugee population, just not to the exclusion of existing residents or the broader existing unhoused population. 

We call on you to stop the transition of the Delta Hotel Shelter into an exclusive refugee shelter. 

Voices 4 Unhoused Liberation