Stop the Cuts in the Downtown East!
Date: Wednesday, March 7th
Time: 5pm
Location: 349 George St.
The School House was first opened in the 1970s, it is a 55 (paid) bed
facility for men in the downtown east end of Toronto. It was one of
the first shelters in Canada to operate from a harm reduction
perspective. Schoolhouse is one of very few harm reduction focused
shelters in this city. Schoolhouse also has 55 beds, at a time when
most shelters are at capacity and when we face a deepening housing
crisis in this city. There are 79 000 housholds on the waiting list
for social housing in Toronto, a list that is estimated to be at least
a decade long. Most poor people are priced out of the private market
with the average bachelor apartment ranging around $777 a month while
the base amount for welfare is only $599.
Schoolhouse as a vital service in this neighborhood that needs to be defended!
To break the silence on this closure, and to demand that this shelter
remain open – we are calling for a rally to take place outside of
Schoolhouse (349 George Street) on Wednesday, March 7th at 5pm.
Rally to defend this vital service in our community!
This rally is organized by: The Downtown East Stop the Cuts Committee,
Ontario Coalition Against Poverty, Health Providers Against Poverty,
and the Harm Reduction Coalition
To endorse this event, or for more information contact the Downtown
East Stop the Cuts Committee: TorontoDTE@gmail.com
or OCAP: 416-925-6939