The City is updating its Toronto Shelter Standards (TSS) and the 24-Hour Respite Site Standards (TRS) to better support clients who identify as 2SLGBTQ+ (Two-Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer plus).
In 2024, the City consulted with 2SLGBTQ+ clients and shelter staff to better understand the experiences and challenges of 2SLGBTQ+ individuals using shelter services. This included working with community partners at The 519, as well as the 2-Spirited People of 1st Nations to gather feedback. This work has helped to inform a series of recommendations for updating the standards.
The City is now asking shelter staff and clients staying in City-funded shelters and 24-hour respites to provide their feedback on the draft standards by completing an online survey by Friday, July 25, 2025. The survey will take approximately 20-25 minutes to complete.
Survey responses will be used to finalize the amended standards in 2025.
The City is committed to advancing equity and inclusion in alignment with the Homelessness Solutions Service Plan – Action 2.2.
To support this work, in 2024 the City organized in-person focus groups and one-on-one interviews with 2SLGBTQ+ shelter clients to better understand their perspectives and identify key issues and gaps in shelter service delivery. The City also collected feedback from shelter staff through consultations.
Based on this feedback, the City developed a list of draft recommendations to update the Toronto Shelter Standards and 24-Hour Respite Standards to better support 2SLGBTQ+ clients in the areas of:
These standards aim to support service users who identify as Two-Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Queer and people who identify as part of sexual and gender diverse populations who may not be captured by 2SLGBTQ+, with a particular focus on people who are gender diverse (e.g., non-binary, gender fluid, genderqueer and androgynous), transgender and Two-Spirit.