EXECUTIVE SUMMARY - Developing Community in a Hotel Shelter - A Summary of the Evaluation of the Edward Hotel

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Developing Community in a Hotel Shelter A Summary of the Evaluation of the Edward Hotel Emergency Shelter Operated by Fred Victor In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Fred Victor was asked by the City of Toronto to operate the Edward Hotel as an emergency shelter to serve up to 300 people. [...] The goal of the Edward Hotel Emergency Shelter is to help clients find permanent, affordable, and safe housing with supports that meet their needs. [...] Research found that partnerships were what allowed Fred Victor to over- come the siloed nature of the housing and homelessness sector, and they were considered so essential that one provider said, “If we don’t have access to these partnerships and the services they provide, we actually don’t have the shelter model.” 2 The evaluation found that clients were generally satisfied with the Edward Hotel. [...] Permanent Supportive Housing Recommendations About two-thirds of clients at the Edward Hotel Emergency Shelter are experiencing chronic homelessness, and according to the Hub Solutions literature review, perma- nent supportive housing is the best model for meeting their needs. [...] Considering that one of the main challenges the hotel shelter faced was the difficulty of finding appropriate housing for clients, the report included a number of recommendations for how the shelter could be converted to permanent supportive housing.