Location: 3838 Bloor St. W.
Demographic: Women
Anticipated capacity: Approximately 65 spaces
Estimated opening date: 2028
The City of Toronto has secured 3838 Bloor St. W. for use as a municipal shelter that will provide critical services to help women experiencing homelessness gain stability and work toward permanent housing.
The shelter is part of the City’s Council-approved Homelessness Services Capital Infrastructure Strategy, which aims to open up to 20 new shelters citywide by 2033. These sites will help respond to demand, stabilize the shelter system and allow the City to move out of more costly temporary hotels, achieving important cost savings.
Learn more about the Strategy and how shelters help to make a difference in people’s lives.
The City is committed to working with the local community to support the success of the site and has hired Community Engagement Facilitator Joe Mihevc Consulting to lead engagement. More information can be found in the Working with the Community tab below.
Join City staff to learn more about the shelter program and ask questions.
Homelessness is experienced in all corners of Toronto and shelters are needed across the city to support people who are facing immediate housing crisis.
Demand for shelters to support women experiencing homelessness continues to rise, with more than 20% of women unable to be matched to shelter each night. Currently, there are no shelters in Etobicoke Centre to support women in need.
City Council has delegated authority to staff to approve and develop new locations for shelters and 24-hour respite sites. This is to ensure the City can work quickly to respond to shelter system pressures and provide critical supports to as many people as possible. It also helps to accelerate and depoliticize the shelter development process, which is consistent with a human-rights based approach to housing and related services for vulnerable residents.
Shelters are typically located in residential neighbourhoods, often close to libraries, schools, community centres and health care services.
There are a limited number of areas in Toronto that meet the size, budget and zoning requirements to be a municipal shelter. To advance the Homelessness Services Capital Infrastructure Strategy, City staff have assessed more than 200 sites across Toronto since 2024 to determine whether they met the City’s criteria for shelter use.
The shelter at 3838 Bloor. St. W. will serve approximately 65 women, offering outcome-focused supports to help the women improve their well-being and find and keep stable housing as quickly as possible.
Renovations will be made to the building to ensure the site follows best practices in shelter design to help meet the needs of the women in the program and integrate into the surrounding community. Learn more about new shelter design.
Once operational, the shelter program will be staffed 24-hours a day, seven days a week and will provide wrap-around supports, including:
Referrals to the program will be made through the City’s telephone-based Central Intake service.
The City is currently working to confirm a service provider. More information will be posted once the operator is selected.
The City is committed to working with the community to support the success of the site.
The City has hired Community Engagement Facilitator Joe Mihevc Consulting to lead the community engagement process. This includes providing ongoing shelter updates, responding to questions and working collaboratively with the City and local community members to collectively problem-solve concerns that may arise.
Should you wish to receive e-updates as the project progresses, or have site specific questions, please email 3838bloor@gmail.com.