Today, the Government of Canada, the City of Toronto and University Health Network (UHN) announced an expansion to its social medicine housing model that will create approximately 200 new supportive homes across three sites for people experiencing homelessness and complex health needs.
This announcement builds on the success of Dunn House, Canada’s first social medicine supportive housing initiative, and Spring House, a 54-unit supportive housing development underway, both in Parkdale.
Today’s announcement adds three more sites, the first of which will provide approximately 80 deeply affordable and supportive homes near Toronto Western Hospital. The site will be operated by a non-profit housing provider selected through a City-led process carried out in partnership with UHN. These investments will help advance efforts to scale the social medicine housing initiative to approximately 200 new homes, representing one of the most significant efforts in Canada to bring health care and housing together.
The Government of Canada, through Build Canada Homes, is investing more than $25 million to support this project. Subject to Toronto City Council approval, the City will provide more than $19 million in funding and financial incentives to support the development. The UHN Foundation will also be providing a $20 million contribution.
CreateTO, the City’s strategic real estate agency, will help identify locations for two additional social medicine housing sites within close proximity to Toronto Western Hospital. Details on the remaining two sites will be announced at a later date.
Social Medicine Housing Model
This model recognizes that factors such as housing, food security and access to support services play an important role in a person’s health. It is designed to support people at greatest risk of poor health outcomes, including people experiencing homelessness, older adults, and people with complex health and social needs, with the aim of improving health outcomes, increase housing stability, and reduce reliance on emergency and acute care systems.
This supportive housing approach helps residents improve their overall well-being and health outcomes while creating broader benefits for the community. By providing stable housing and access to care, the model can help reduce pressure on Toronto’s shelter system and health-care services.
Through this initiative, UHN will work closely with the City’s shelter and street outreach teams to identify people who are unhoused and frequently access emergency departments within the UHN network. Residents at the new supportive housing sites will have access to a range of onsite health and social services and will be connected to primary care and other healthcare supports near Toronto Western Hospital.
Success of Dunn House
Early results from Dunn House, the first social medicine housing model site, demonstrated housing stability for residents formerly experiencing homelessness. Across the City’s portfolio of supportive housing, less than five per cent of tenants returned to shelter within the first year, including at Dunn House.
Results also demonstrated that supportive housing is a more cost-effective solution to ending homelessness. Data from Dunn House showed health-care cost savings of $2 million associated with:
Advancing Spring House
CreateTO is leading the development of Spring House, the second phase of the social medicine housing model funded by the Government of Canada through Build Canada Homes as well as by the Province of Ontario, the City and UHN. Spring House is creating 54 studio homes, prioritized for seniors and older adults experiencing chronic homelessness who are also frequent users of UHN emergency services.
Spring House is in early development stages and is expected to start construction in late 2026.
Quotes:
“The Dunn House model is working. It’s helping people build stable lives, access vital resources, and stay off the street and out of the emergency room. The City of Toronto is proud to partner with the federal government and University Health Network to advance Dunn House Phase 3, so more people can benefit from social medicine supportive housing. This is a very Canadian solution: one that is compassionate, coordinated and comprehensive.”
– Olivia Chow, Mayor of Toronto
“Investing in the Dunn House model is critical to solving the housing crisis across the continuum. This investment will deliver urgently needed supportive housing for those who need it most. When we pair innovation with compassion, we create homes that strengthen communities and provide vulnerable Canadians with the stability and care they deserve.”
– The Hon. Gregor Robertson, Minister of Housing and Infrastructure and Minister responsible for Pacific Economic Development Canada
“At UHN’s Gattuso Centre for Social Medicine, we have demonstrated what is possible when housing, health care and social supports come together around the needs of patients. What began as Canada’s first hospital-led supportive housing initiative has evolved into a proven model of care, made possible through the commitment of our government and community partners and the generosity of our Foundation. This investment will extend that model to 200 more people with complex health and social needs and help scale a made-in-Canada approach that can strengthen health systems and communities across the country.”
– Dr. Kevin Smith, President and CEO, University Health Network
“Dunn House proved something simple: housing is health care. When people moved in from the street and the shelter system, emergency department visits fell by more than half and hospital bed days dropped by nearly 80 per cent. That’s what happens when you treat the conditions that make people sick, not just the symptoms. This investment takes the Social Medicine Housing Model that can save lives and scales it to more than 200 new homes — the largest housing and health care initiative in the country.”
– Dr. Andrew Boozary, Founding Executive Director, Gattuso Centre for Social Medicine, University Health Network
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