Birchmount Residence, established in 1999 as a homeless shelter
The City of Toronto is planning to move the Birchmount Residence homeless shelter from its current location at 1673 Kingston Rd. in Birch Cliff to a newly renovated facility on Kingston Rd. east of Bellamy.
The shelter, which is a satellite of Seaton House, houses 50 – 60 men over the age of 55 who are regular shelter users and pay about $700 month as they try to transition back to independent living.
Ward 36 Councillor Gary Crawford said the move is necessary because the current rented facilities are in disrepair.
“It’s just really not meeting the needs of the residents, the men and staff,” Crawford said in an interview with Birch Cliff News. “It’s an older building. It’s just old, tired and it’s seen better days.”
Proposed new location for homeless shelter
Moving to a renovated hotel
If approved by City Council, the shelter will be relocated to what is now the Comfort Inn, a two-star hotel at 3306 Kingston Rd.
The city plans to purchase the hotel and renovate.
Crawford says the new location will be a nicer facility that could house up to 120 people and give the residents more privacy because, for example, every room will have an ensuite bathroom.
One of the bonuses of this deal is that the city is also purchasing the East Side Motel next door to the Comfort Inn.
Crawford described The East Side Motel as “one of the worst motels on Kingston Rd.” and said there are plans demolish it and spur revitalization in the neighbourhood.
East Side Motel on Kingston Rd. slated for demolition
“The East Side Motel is a concern for the community,” Crawford said. “ A lot of drugs, prostitution and just some unsavory things are going on there. And this is something that’s been a concern to the community for a long time. The impact on the community should be a net positive for getting rid of the motel.”
Local residents who want more information or have questions about the shelter are invited a public information meeting on Tues. Nov. 17 from 6:30 – 8:30pm at Scarborough Village Recreation Centre regarding the City’s proposed plan.
Shelter has controversial history
The decision by the city to hold public consultation in advance of the shelter moving to Kingston and Bellamy is likely wise given the community reaction in Birch Cliff when the Birchmount Residence was first established in 1999.
The shelter was situated across the street from Birch Cliff Public School and presented by the city as a fait accompli with no public consultation, angering hundreds of Birch Cliff residents who organized in protest.
“It was too secretive,” said former Councillor Brian Ashton in a Toronto Star article published on Oct. 28, 1999. “It was almost deceitful to a certain point of view. If you wanted a model of how NOT to place shelter accommodation across the city, this is the model.”
But as the years wore on the shelter became accepted in the community and there were few incidents. This week Gary Crawford said there has been an “overwhelmingly positive atmosphere of mutual respect” between the shelter residents and area homeowners.
“Understandably, the Birch Cliff community will be sad to see the change as the men have been good neighbours – volunteering, shopping and taking part in seasonal celebrations. Still, they’ll be happy to know that the residents will be just down the road,” Crawford said.
Crawford said the city will be working with a community advisory group in the Kingston Rd. and Bellamy area to ensure a smooth transition and he hopes the residents there are as welcoming as they were in Birch Cliff.
In my very clear memory of past history of the residence, it was not a “secretive” process as Brian Ashton’s comment says. There was a large and very contentious public meeting. The local community,or at least the loud vocal part, were hotly opposed and made some ugly, nasty comments and accusations about the dangers of moving the men into the home. The few souls who spoke in support, were treated very rudely by their neighbours.
Birch Cliff made the evening news, and it was an embarrassing NIMBY show.
In the end, as we know, it all settled down. I hope that the move to the Comfort Inn is less stressful for the residents. It always makes me feel grateful to have a roof over my head and not be one of those people who face the indignity of being stigmatized by their situation.
The public meeting was organized after the shelter was announced as a done deal by the City. There was no public consultation ahead of time.
Well, everyone is entitled to an opionion. Having been deeply involved the motivation was to ensure the safety of the community, especially our children. The person making above comment had no first hand experience with dealing with the downtown Seaton House crowd. The city did do this behind back doors and we had no say. What the above person forgets is that the public outcry, the “NIMBYS” , those rude people were paramount in having proper guidelines in place defining what type of clientele could be placed there. It ensured none with criminal history, no pedophiles and restrictions on drugs and alcohol use. Those without knowledge and refusing to look at the whole picture saw those as trying to be protective of our community as anti-homeless elderly gentleman. Nothing was farther from the truth. Feel free to publish my full name. The shelter has worked and I hope it continues to do so. Rude we were not… diligent we were.