Why hasn’t London opened warming centres for the homeless?

Warming centres are welcoming people experiencing homelessness in Toronto, but a much lower temperature criteria in London means the temporary spaces are not operating here.

The recent blast of cold and snowy weather has made living in his tent even more difficult for 40-year-old Robert.

“It’s been pretty miserable,” Robert admitted as he shovelled show from around the encampment in Evergreen Park.

“You wake up in the morning and you don’t know what to expect,” he explained. “If our tents are going to collapse down in on us. It's kind of dangerous out here.”

The City of Toronto has opened its network of temporary warming centres in response to the worsening weather.

London has not.

The criteria for opening warming centres in Toronto is a temperature of minus 5 degrees (or below), or a Winter Weather Warning from Environment Canada.

Tent encampment in Watson Park buried in snow after a storm, December 6, 2024 (Daryl Newcombe/CTV News London)

In London, city hall waits for the Middlesex London Health Unit (MLHU) to issue a formal cold alert which requires forecast temperatures of minus 15 degrees (or lower), a forecasted wind chill of minus 20 degrees (or lower), or a Cold Alert/Warning issued by Environment Canada.

Only then does the municipality initiate an ‘Extreme Temperature Protocol’ that, according to the city website, “may include opening warming centre(s) for residents who require temporary shelter from the cold.”

In Evergreen Park, Robert was surprised the bar is set so high in London, “Anything below zero could potentially be dangerous for people that are outside and in the elements.”

Warming centres are only intended to provide temporary relief from the cold and should not be confused with shelters.

During a cold weather alert, the following community centres serve as warming centres:

• East Lions Community Centre
• North London Optimist Community Centre
• South London Community Centre
• Canada Games Aquatic Centre
• Carling Heights Optimist Community Centre

No one from civic administration was available for an interview about why London’s criteria for opening warming centres is so much colder than Toronto.

Craig Cooper, Director of Housing Stability Services wrote in a statement, “In response to today’s snow event, the City of London’s Housing Stability Services team reached out to shelter operators to request opening additional beds that are typically offered during MHLU (sic) extreme weather alerts.”

The total number of beds is still being determined, Ark Aid Street Mission added five beds and some daytime spaces.

Cooper’s statement added that the city’s recreation centres, sports facilities, and libraries are welcoming spaces that support Londoners getting out of the elements when required and are open 364 days a year.

Robert said the unhoused do visit libraries, but he believes a warming centre geared to the unique needs of the homeless would be better attended, “If they had a centre to go to where there was food and shelter and some resources to help them out, I can guarantee you that they would be filling that place up.”