Hunger & Homelessness

Preventing Hunger and Homelessness

James R. Rees has come a long way from the shelter he used to live in. He started his training at the Phoenix Print Shop, which receives support from United Way's Toronto Enterprise Fund. The shop helped get him off the streets. And when he graduates, he'll have the job and life skills to work in the printing and graphic design industry. (Photo: Veronica Henri)

The Situation

Many of our city's homeless are families who simply can't make ends meet. In recent years the price of housing has skyrocketed, making the lack of affordable housing in Toronto one of the most significant factors contributing to the rise of hunger and homelessness. Young families, single parents, low-income workers and people on fixed incomes are most in need.

The Facts

  • Toronto's poverty rate in 2005 was 24.7%, up from 22.9% in 2000 (2007).
  • According to a study completed in April 2006, 5,052 people were found to need permanent housing in Toronto. 818 of those were living on the street. 70% were in the city core (2006).
  • The waiting list for subsidized housing in Toronto increased to 67,083 applicants in 2006 from 66,556 in 2005 (2007).
  • 80% of wait list registrants in Ontario had household incomes of less than $20,000– families account for the largest number of households on the list (43%) (2006).
  • Half of households who use a food bank in Toronto report earning less than $12,000 per year (2007).
  • Young homeless men in Toronto were dying at a rate more than eight times higher than those who are housed and homeless; women 18-44 years of age were 10 times more likely to die than women in the general population of Toronto (2004).
  • 76% of women and 88% of children in all Canadian shelters were escaping situations of abuse (2004).

United Way Support

United Way funds 47 agencies that help with hunger and homelessness. Agencies provide shelter, meals, counselling and drop-in centres for those with no home. Other programs provide breakfasts to young children who would otherwise go hungry and "FoodShare" programs enable low-income families to buy fresh food at affordable prices.

In 2004, United Way agencies provided 294,000 nights of shelter to homeless people, and supplied 948,000 meals to homeless people and those living in substandard housing.

Photo by Michael Stuparyk,/Toronto Star

Support United Way and you'll support people like Danielle

Danielle moved to Toronto three years ago, spending much of that time in shelters. Homeword Bound changed her life, a program run by WoodGreen Community Services, a United Way agency, that helps homeless women and their children. By providing daycare, housing, schooling and a series of workshops for mothers, Homeward Bound focuses on helping women leave city shelters—and social assistance—for good.

Women like Danielle receive six months of information technology training, learn how to create and manage a family budget, study tenant and workplace issues, and take part in family workshops— all the while sharing the same apartment building for three years. The program also provides guaranteed jobs for the women when they've completed the program.

"Here was this program offering us a beautiful place to live, a daycare centre right next door and a chance to go to school and become someone," says Danielle. And most important to Danielle, she will never be separated from her son, Angel-Alexander

Adapted from an article in Toronto Star, October 15, 2004, by Christian Cotroneo.

How your dollars make an impact

$100 provides breakfast every morning for the school year to a child who would otherwise go hungry.

$300 provides one night of street outreach to homeless people, delivering food and blankets to keep them alive and offering the help they need to turn their lives around.

$468 provides counselling for a homeless youth one hour a week for a year, to help with housing issues, life skills, school, employment, relationships or anger management.

$1,935 offers shelter, clothing, meals and referrals for a month to a homeless youth, helping him or her get off the street.

With your generosity, United Way agencies are able to provide helpful support and solutions to people living with hunger and homelessness.

Your donation creates lasting change by supporting:

  • Emergency overnight shelters, clothing and meals
  • Outreach and drop-in programs for people living on the street
  • Counselling
  • Children's breakfast programs
  • Housing support services
  • Support to help people overcome addictions

Download the brochure: Preventing Hunger and Homelessness (pdf - 276 KB).