Homelessness
Approved Temporary Shelter Expansion
Provide Your Feedback
Consult: We value your input! The City of Hamilton understands that residents may have questions or concerns, and we are committed to listening to your feedback and ensuring it informs our efforts to address housing and homelessness in our community. Please use the form below to share your thoughts or questions about the temporary outdoor shelter.
Submit your Comments & Feeback
Please note: While this portal is not monitored 24 hours a day, staff review all submissions and provide general responses in updates to the Frequently Asked Questions section on this page. A summary of responses will also be included in updates to Council through the General Issues Committee and included in the Council Reports and Communication Updates section of this webpage.
Reducing Homelessness and Managing Encampments
The City of Hamilton continues to face significant challenges related to housing affordability and homelessness. Addressing these issues requires a coordinated effort involving the City, community partners, and Provincial and Federal governments. These challenges are not unique to Hamilton but reflect broader systemic issues across Canada, where rising housing costs and inadequate support systems have led to increased homelessness and the visibility of encampments, exacerbated by and through the COVID-19 pandemic.
While the City’s goal remains prioritizing deeply affordable, permanent housing solutions, there are immediate needs that must be addressed. In response, the City is taking urgent action to reduce unsheltered homelessness and provide necessary emergency supports. This includes adding 192 new temporary shelter beds, and developing a temporary low-barrier outdoor shelter site in the Barton/Tiffany area. The site will offer 24/7 services such as mental health support, housing resources, and essential services for up to 80 residents, including couples and those with pets. The temporary shelter spaces increase emergency shelter capacity by 56% overall.
These initiatives are critical steps in providing immediate relief while we continue to focus on connecting people to stable, permanent housing and the resources they need for a secure future.
The City will continue to provide ongoing updates on these efforts to address community and neighbourhood level concerns as we work toward long-term solutions.
Barton/Tiffany Frequently Asked Questions
The temporary outdoor shelter is part of the City’s broader, ongoing strategy to address homelessness in Hamilton. This reflects Council’s decision to provide additional low-barrier shelter space in response to the Mayor's directive to establish a temporary outdoor shelter. This is not a standalone project but a crucial component of a larger system that includes housing support programs, rapid re-housing, drop-in services, outreach, and emergency supports.
It’s located on lands commonly referred to as Barton-Tiffany, which is bordered by Stuart Street, Barton Street West, Caroline Street North, and Hess Street North. The shelter will not be located on all of these lands.
No. This is a temporary solution as the City works on long-term permanent shelter solutions across Hamilton.
Good Shepherd, who is a local registered charity and non-profit. Good Shepherd’s experienced staff will be on-site 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to support residents.
The City and Good Shepherd are targeting Friday, December 20, 2024. The City hoped to open the shelter sooner, but needed to delay the opening to ensure the site is safe and healthy for future residents.
In October, site clearing began. Currently, contractors are finalizing a full site plan and safety measures. This will include items related to environmental measures, health and safety, emergency access, waste removal, and accessibility. Perimeter fencing will be installed throughout November to secure the site, followed by site grading and ground cover (i.e. asphalt or concrete).
Support services will include:
- Case management (a collaborative process that assesses, plans, implements and monitors the options and services required to meet a clients’ health and human service needs),
- Health and mental health care,
- Addiction support (e.g. harm reduction, connections to medical supports)
- Assistance with transitioning to permanent housing, and
- Meals and snacks.
Harm reduction aims to meet people who use drugs where they are at. It may incorporate a wide range of strategies that could include safer drug use, managed use, and abstinence.
The site will have:
- 40 heated and cooled shelter units for up to 80 residents,
- Trailers for washrooms, showers, and laundry, and
- Common buildings for both staff and residents.
The City’s Housing-Focused Street Outreach Team will manage referrals for the 80-bed temporary outdoor shelter and 192 emergency shelter bed expansion, prioritizing individuals currently in encampments. Conversations are ongoing with residents in encampments and referrals will be on a case-by-case basis. The transition to the shelter spaces will be handled with compassion and care.
Yes.
Yes. Rules are being developed to ensure the safety of everyone at the temporary outdoor shelter. Guests will be permitted, but visits will follow an organized and structured process. Details on that process will be managed by Good Shepherd.
Yes. Pets will be accommodated where it is safe to do so. Policies are being developed to ensure the safety of shelter residents, neighbours, and pets. Policies will address both on-site and site-adjacent considerations, including pet-related noise.
There will be staff, including security, on site 24 hours a day, seven days a week, year-round. There will be regular scheduled waste collection and removal and routine site inspections to maintain cleanliness and safety.
There will be staff, including security, on site 24 hours a day, seven days a week, year-round. Staff will address noise and disturbances and will work to de-escalate any conflicts that arise. Fires will not be permitted on the site.
There will be staff, including security, on site 24 hours a day, seven days a week, year-round.
Hamilton Police Services (HPS) will continue to be responsible for public safety issues and criminal matters as outlined in the Community Safety and Policing Act. Good Shepherd, like all other shelter providers, will work with HPS if there are public safety issues and criminal matters at the temporary outdoor shelter. HPS will continue to respond to public safety issues and criminal matters in the surrounding neighbourhood.
The site will follow harm reduction principles to support overall health and safety, addressing both individual and community needs. Support services, including addiction resources (e.g. harm reduction and connections to medical supports), will be available to help residents manage substance use safely and responsibly.
A low-barrier shelter is designed to reduce obstacles that typically prevent people from accessing indoor shelters. This includes accommodation for couples, pets, and secure storage for belongings.
External environmental experts have assessed the site and provided recommendations for on-site mitigation. These include:
- laying an asphalt or concrete surface,
- restricting access to unused areas of the property by installing fencing,
- installation of a drainage system,
- installation of a waterproof barrier to block any vapours from contaminants,
- regular inspections of the site,
- installation of appropriate signage, and
- implementation of dust control measures and personal protective equipment during construction.
Key measures will include:
- Occupancy rates,
- Length of stay,
- Access to health and support services,
- Housing stability for residents,
- Effectiveness of on-site services
- Transitions to safe and permanent housing, and
- Community benefit.
The project pilot will be regularly evaluated, and the key measures will inform any adjustments that need to be made throughout the course of the project. The goal of the project is to see an overall decrease in the number of unhoused residents, and reduce the demands and needs for emergency shelter housing.
Results and outcomes will be shared through reports to City Council though the General Issues Committee, which will be posted on the City website.
The temporary shelter is part of a broader plan to address homelessness and housing in Hamilton. Addressing homelessness requires supports across the housing continuum, including both short-term and long-term, permanent solutions.
For more information on the City’s Whole of Hamilton approach to housing, visit www.hamilton.ca/housinginvestments
Infographic description:
Encampments within 1 km of the temporary outdoor shelter will not be permitted once the shelter opens. The City’s Encampment Response Team will work with residents encamped within this radius to transition them to safer, more compassionate, and legal accommodations. The Response Team will assist with moving personal belongings, cleaning up unwanted belongings and litter, and will ensure site cleanup. Staff from Municipal Licensing Enforcement (MLE) will proactively monitor the 1 km radius area once a week to ensure ongoing compliance. If required, additional visits will be conducted, Trespass Notices may be issued, and MLE staff will engage Hamilton Police Services when necessary.
All updates, including links Council Reports and Communication Updates, will be posted on this page.
In the lead-up to the temporary outdoor shelter site opening, residents can use the comment form to ask questions and provide feedback. Questions will be regularly reviewed by the City’s dedicated team to inform the project and its operations and answers will be added on a monthly basis or as new information becomes available. We will also be providing more comprehensive materials with detailed plans as soon as they’re available and before December 20 when we plan to open the temporary outdoor shelter.
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