The city of Toronto has proposed to build a 30-bed men's shelter at 854 Bloor W, operated by the Christie Ossington Neighbourhood Centre (CONC). City Council votes on the proposal November 3, 2015. We ask that Council reject the proposal for the following reasons:

• CONC previously operated an eight bed shelter at the same location. This shelter was poorly managed and ultimately closed because CONC could not integrate with the community or keep its shelter residents safe. We want the city to find a capable community partner that can work with us to help our most vulnerable citizens.
• Neighbourhood stakeholders, including business owners and residents' associations, have not been part of the consultation process. Instead the Shelter, Support & Housing Administration has secretly negotiated this deal and informed us at the last minute.
• The City has no previous dealings with CONC, but is going to give more than $2 million over three years - greater than 25% of the budget to address our homelessness crisis - to an agency with a failing track record.

We want Council to reject this Band-Aid proposal and work with us to find alternate, lasting solutions to help our homeless.