Location: 233 Carlton St.
Client group: Women
Number of expected overnight spaces: Up to 32
Expected opening Date: Q1 2025
Service Operator: Fred Victor Centre
The City has leased the property at 233 Carlton St. as the relocation site for the Adelaide Women’s Resource Centre, which is currently located at 67 Adelaide St. E. Construction is ongoing and is expected to conclude late 2024, with the site opening to clients in the first quarter of 2025.
Once open, the Centre will provide 24-hour drop-in and support services for vulnerable women who are at risk of gender-based violence and experiencing homelessness.
Since 1998, the Adelaide Resource Centre for Women has offered a safe, welcoming place for people who identify as women who are homeless, socially alone and isolated, or in need of assistance.
Aging infrastructure at the current location at 67 Adelaide St. E. presents challenges for the effective delivery of the drop-in services. 233 Carlton St. has been identified as a suitable relocation site because it has sufficient space for the delivery of a range of programs and services, it is close to public transit, and it is near the Adelaide location, making it easier to facilitate service continuity for clients.
It is most helpful to think of the Adelaide Resource Centre for Women as a resource centre offering many programs and services, where some women rest overnight.
While women can stay as long as they want or need to, the resource and 24 hour drop-in centre is not a shelter. Some women will visit the site for daytime hours only, some will sleep over only occasionally and others will stay overnight more often. For many, whether they stay overnight or not, the Adelaide Resource Centre for Women is their “safe place.”
At its new location, the Adelaide Resource Centre for Women will offer a variety of services and supports to help woman improve their well-being and find permanent housing.
Services will include:
Some new features of the renovated facility at 233 Carlton St., including the teaching kitchen, will allow for adjusted or new programming. Fred Victor will explore potential new partnerships with local agencies to meet the needs of woman who use the site.
The City is committed to engaging the community to support the program’s success – both for the individuals who will be staying there and the surrounding community.
Preliminary engagement took place in late 2019 and early 2020, including meetings with key stakeholders, flyer distribution and an in-person public session.
A community information session was held on January 21, 2020 at the Cabbagetown Youth Centre for members of the community to learn more about the drop-in’s programs and services.
To manage community engagement leading up to the site’s re-opening in 2025, the City has hired a Community Engagement Facilitator, the Department of Words & Deeds, to ensure community members are kept informed of services and supports at the site. This community work will include:
The Department of Words & Deeds is coordinating a Community Liaison Committee (CLC) on behalf of the City. This is a proactive, problem-solving community group that responds to issues of concern, identifies ways to understand and communicate issues of homelessness, and creates opportunities for the shelter to engage with the community in a positive way. CLC members will be representatives of the local community groups (e.g., condo boards, resident associations, businesses or local community organizations) who meet regularly with staff from Fred Victor, the City of Toronto and the Engagement Team to share information, ask questions, and work together to problem solve community concerns.
If you are an active member of the community, we invite you to apply to join the CLC, or to share this opportunity with someone in the community who may be interested.
CLC meetings:
To apply to the CLC:
Learn more about the City’s approach to working with the community.
Please see the following community bulletins for 233 Carlton St:
Additional community engagement opportunities along with infrastructure and programming updates for this location will be provided on an ongoing basis when available.
If you wish to join the City’s electronic mailing list for 233 Carlton St., please email clc.233carlton@gmail.com.