THE UGLY TRUTH ABOUT HOMELESSNESS

"It is deeply disturbing to me, that after 26 years of providing lifesaving essentials to the homeless and less fortunate, that we continue to find ourselves struggling against insurmountable odds to make so much as a dent in the living conditions of those most vulnerable in our community."   Jody Steinhauer, Founder Project Winter Survival

TORONTO, Jan. 17, 2025 /CNW/ - The homeless crisis in Ontario has reached critical with an estimated 80,000 people experiencing homelessness in 2024 (The Association of Municipalities of Ontario). It is no longer simply the disheveled on the corner that account for this forgotten community: it is our neighbours, family, friends, former associates, and children. On any given night in the GTA, roughly 11,000 of the homeless population are sleeping outdoors, in shelters, in emergency respite centres, and health and correction facilities. Encampments scatter the city landscape while government focus shifts to global issues of crime, politics, and hate. Reported deaths among this group are a staggering 3 per week. They are the forgotten.

Exhausted shelter and outreach facilities labour under the overwhelming increase in the demand for humanitarian relief exacerbated by an increase in violence in Toronto shelters attributed to city cutbacks, the opioid crisis, an increase in asylum claimants, overcrowding and a shortage of mental health supports. 

What started out as an immediate response to help those in need survive the conditions of winter on the streets of the GTA 26 years ago, has become a milestone of misery as Engage and Change's Project Winter Survival again prepares to pack and facilitate the distribution of 3,500 winter survival kits to over 145 social service agencies, homeless shelters, and outreach relief agencies for allocation to those most vulnerable across the GTA and surrounding areas: Saturday, January 18, 2025: 12 pm – Auric Worldwide Cargo, 119 Snow Blvd., Vaughan.

A GROWING PANDEMIC IN IMMEDIATE NEED

In an act of benevolence, community-minded partners Auric Worldwide Cargo, Fortigo Freight Service,Scotiabank, RBC Foundation, CIBC, Perimeter Development Corporation, Optimus SBR, Toronto Police Services 13 Division and The Bargains Group, will facilitate the distribution the survival kits during the 26th annual Engage and Change's Project Winter Survival. To date, over 15,000 kits have been requested to provide relief to those in need.  "The appeal for kits is staggering," said Jody Steinhauer, President of The Bargains Group and Project Winter Survival founder. "The growing plight of our city's homeless goes from critical to deadly during the volatile winter season. Ongoing challenges facing this high-risk group mean that increased numbers in need of warmth and shelter are left to fend off the elements as best they can." For those less fortunate, a mere $75 donation per kit to Project Winter Survival translates into a lifeline of hope against the threat of death.

Each Winter Survival Kit contains a sleeping bag, toque, scarf, winter gloves, socks and personal and health care items that often make a difference between life and death. Since its inception in 1999, the grass roots charity Project Winter Survival has assembled and distributed more than 50,000 winter survival kits to GTA and surrounding area homeless. For more information or to make a donation, visit www.engageandchange.org 

MEDIA SCHEDULE: 119 Snow Blvd, Vaughan
12:00 pm - Press Conference
- Livestream: https://www.facebook.com/engageandchange
12:30 pm - Agency Pick-up

SOURCE Engage and Change