This will be the largest Homeless Connect Toronto event to date, bringing a wide range of services under one roof. Most services provided by agencies are widespread throughout the city, which makes them difficult to access by people who have challenges with mobility and health. This event brings resources to a common location and fosters a network of services to help those in need.
“While Toronto has great services, the people who need the services most often have difficulty accessing them. Sometimes they don’t know about what services exist, have difficulty travelling to them and their experience is uncoordinated. Homeless Connect Toronto brings these services together under one roof so that people can access various services at once – and for free. Beyond the typical services, we also have ones that play an important role in maintaining our dignity and worth as humans, like haircuts, an identification card, and our own set of personal toiletries – things that many of us take for granted. We hope that our collective efforts will help people to get back on their feet and shine light on the need to address Toronto’s poverty,” states Melody Li, Executive Director of Homeless Connect Toronto
One guest who attended last year’s event said, “Thank you for your respect + care. I wish the world could be reflective of what happens here on this day. It would change the world!” and service providers and volunteers reported eye-opening experiences that changed their views on homelessness. We are extremely humbled to have had an impact.