Call the Mayor right now 416-397-2489 to tell him to open up the warming centres now.

Press 5 to speak to a staff person in the Mayor’s office or Press 6 to leave a message.

There’s a big storm coming to Toronto and it’s starting soon. Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement for Toronto, saying temperatures this week could be the “coldest of the season to date.”

They’re calling for hours of rain today with a plunge in temperatures early tomorrow, all the way to -22 with the wind chill and wind gusts up to 90km/hr. If people are soaked from the rain when the temperatures drop it will be extremely dangerous and life threatening for those who are unhoused.

During cold weather emergencies, the City opens warming centres that offer people short-term emergency access to warmth. These warming centres provide warmth, a cot to sleep on and access to bathrooms and snacks.

The City is saying they won’t open warming centres until tomorrow night. The Mayor must open warming centres now.

At a time when shelters are full and close to 200 people seeking shelter are turned away each day because of a lack of space, access to warming centres is critically important.

Unfortunately it is still city policy to open warming centres when Environment Canada forecasts temperatures of -15 degrees and not earlier unless they decide to on their own. This is despite significant pressure from advocates who point out that emergency access to warmth is needed sooner to prevent freezing, frostbite, and death during cold and wet weather events: conditions that change suddenly from wet to freezing can be incredibly harmful and dangerous for unhoused people.

The City is not planning on opening the warming centres until Friday night, but it is incredibly important that they open them today.

Public pressure has been successful in getting the City to open warming centres during bad weather events like the one starting today, and to keep them open 24-7 for extended periods.

The Mayor can choose to open the warming centres sooner and save lives. Call the Mayor right now: 416-397-2489 and tell him to open the warming centres.

Currently, the city only has 3 warming centres to serve the entire city. The warming centres are at Metro Hall (55 John St) (capacity: 45), Scarborough Civic Centre (150 Borough Dr, capacity: 17), and Mitchell Field Community Centre (89 Church Ave, North York, capacity: 50). This is from the city’s website: https://www.toronto.ca/community-people/housing-shelter/homeless-help/#warmingcentres