Homeless Shelters
Housing-focused shelter programs
Shelter programs in Durham region can help you if you don’t have any other place to stay. Funded homeless shelter programs are housing-focused, as part of Durham Region’s commitment to ending homelessness in our community.
Shelter programs also act as Community Access Points to our By-Name List and Coordinated Access System.
Victims of gender-based violence or trafficking who need supports or emergency accommodation have more than one option:
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Call Victim Services at 905-721-4226 or Ontario Works in Whitby at 905-666-6239 during business hours.
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Visit the web page Emergency Shelters for Victims of Violence to access a shelter to accommodate your needs and safety.
Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) information for shelter service setting providers
Housing-focused shelter locations in Durham Region |
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Christian Faith Outreach Centre 158 Harwood Ave S., Ajax, Ontario L1S 2H6 Phone: 905-619-1109 or 289-988-0171 Email: info@cfoc.ca Criteria: Both men and women, no pets Capacity: 20 beds
Cornerstone 133 Simcoe Street South, Oshawa, Ontario L1H 4G8 Phone: 905-433-0254 or 1-844-433-0254 Fax: 905-433-2363 Email: GeneralInquiry@CornerstoneDurham.com Criteria: Single men, men with children, couple with children, Seniors with extraordinary medical needs that cannot be accommodated in an emergency shelter, no pets Capacity: 40 beds
Durham Youth Services 82 Kings Crescent, Ajax, Ontario L1S 2M6 Phone: 905-239-9477 Email: contact@durhamyouth.com Criteria: Youth ages 16-24 years old, no pets Capacity: 8 beds
Muslim Welfare Home 425 Dundas St E., Whitby, Ontario L1N 2J2 Phone: 905-665-0424 or 1-866-666-1115 Email: muslimwelfarecentre@gmail.com Criteria: Single women, single women with children (boys under 12), no pets Capacity: 45 beds |
Transportation help to access shelters |
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Housing outreach agencies can provide transportation help (bus tickets, etc.) for people who need help to get to a shelter program. Offices are only open during business hours, Monday to Friday. If you need help after hours, you can contact the shelter program for help.
Ajax-Pickering Community Development Council Durham 905-686-2661 or 1-866-746-3696
Clarington John Howard Society 905-623-6814
Oshawa-Whitby John Howard Society 905-579-8482
Scugog-Brock North House 705-432-8654 or 1-877-406-8723 |
About homelessness in Durham Region
| Commitment to ending chronic homelessness in Durham Region |
| The Regional Municipality of Durham is committed to ending chronic homelessness in our community by 2024. We are part of the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness’s Built for Zero Canada program, which is a nation-wide effort that helps communities end chronic homelessness. Through the collection of real-time data, the Region and its service providers can better address homelessness in Durham and track our progress on homelessness reduction. |
| What are housing-focused shelter programs? |
| The Region developed a housing-focused approach for shelters in our community. This means that shelters are part of a process to help someone be housed and end their homelessness. In housing-focused shelters and outreach programs, all supports, services and strategies lead to housing, as opposed to just managing the symptoms of homelessness.
From the moment someone enters shelter, there are supports and a plan to ensure a safe and appropriate exit from shelter. Shelter programs are part of the process of helping people end their homelessness while helping to meet their basic needs. You can learn more about how housing-focused shelters in Durham Region operate through our Service Standards. OrgCode Consulting, Inc. and the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness (CAEH) partnered to create guidelines for shelters to become housing-focused, as part of the Canadian Shelter Transformation Network. You can learn more about housing-focused shelters from the Canadian Shelter Transformation Network. Shelter programs focus on short-term stays and have a commitment to helping people exit the shelter to housing. From the moment you access shelter, staff will ask you about your housing plan and work with you to put that plan in action. Everyone in shelter needs to be working on their housing plan as much as possible. You can contact the shelter program directly to start the intake process. |
| Street Outreach Strategy |
| Durham’s Street Outreach Team are working to ensure unsheltered residents have access to the the supports and services they need, including access to housing-focused shelter programs. Street Outreach Workers are meeting with unsheltered residents across Durham region to obtain their consent to add them to our By-Name List and connect them with a dedicated case manager, who will help them access supports and services. |
| By-Name List and Co-ordinated Access System |
| To help streamline access to housing and supports, the Region uses a By-Name List and Co-ordinated Access System. The By-Name List is a list of people currently experiencing homelessness, who provide consent to receive supports, and are engaged with the support system. The Co-ordinated Access System is used to connect people on the By-Name List with wrap-around supports and housing to help end their homelessness. |
| Primary Care Outreach Program (PCOP) |
| The Primary Care Outreach Program (PCOP) provides outreach services year-round to vulnerable populations in Durham Region. The PCOP is a partnership between Durham’s Health and Social Services departments and consists of an advanced care paramedic and social worker. The advanced care paramedic provides physical assessments, vital signs, wound care and blood sugar monitoring, while the social worker provides assessment and service navigation. Together, they coordinate referrals to community supports. |
| Help someone in crisis |
| If you see a vulnerable resident in crisis, please dial 9-1-1 and emergency services will respond to the situation. |
| Cold Weather Alert |
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When temperatures are expected to drop below -15°C and/or a wind chill of -20°C or colder, Durham Region Public Health initiates a Cold Weather Alert. When this alert is initiated, Durham Region’s Homelessness Co-ordinator issues a notice to applicable partner organizations/contacts to expand their services by adding additional mats/cots and using hotel space as needed to ensure no one is turned away. During Cold Weather Alerts, housing-focused shelters remain open during the day so that people can stay inside. The Homelessness Co-ordinator will issue a communication through the Homeless Individuals and Families Information System (HIFIS), and Housing Services staff will continue to monitor the situation and update Regional employees and partner organizations/contacts as appropriate. |
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