Seaton House
Encyclopedia
Seaton House is the largest homeless shelter
in Toronto
, Ontario
, Canada
. It is located at 339 George Street near Dundas Street
East, several blocks from Yonge Street
. The facility provides temporary lodging, food, clothing, medical care, for single men and also attempts to provide tools for enabling them to establish their independence. The shelter houses up to 700 men though, in the past, it has exceeded capacity and housed as many as 900 men.
, to provide a place to sleep and meals for transient
men seeking work. The facility moved to its current premises in 1959.
Seaton House provides bathing facilities, delousing, a barber, laundry and lockers as well as counselling and life skills training. Typically, a client will sleep in a large room with several bunk beds and shared bathroom. Three meals a day are provided. Clothing and shoes are available, if needed, as well as medical care from doctors and nurses.
Satellite residences are operated at the Birchmount Residence in Scarborough, Ontario
for men over 55 and at Downsview Dell in North York for men who have agreed to abstain from drugs and alcohol.
Funded by the provincial and city governments, the institution now operates on a 24-hour basis.
s and others lacking family or community support have also ended up seeking temporary respite at Seaton House. In 1999, a sudden influx of Tibet
an refugees resulted in 53 of them being provided temporary residence at Seaton House. In 2002, several youths from Uganda
who arrived in Toronto to participate in the Catholic Church's World Youth Day
were housed in Seaton House after they requested asylum
.
shelter" operated in conjunction with staff from St. Michael's Hospital on the harm reduction
principle. Previously, Seaton House banned alcohol forcing many homeless alcoholics to stay on the street using unsafe sources of liquor such as rubbing alcohol, cleaners, and industrial products. Under the new "managed alcohol" policy clients enrolled in the program are served one drink every 90 minutes until it is determined that an individual is too inebriated at which point he is denied another shot. The clients have been found to gradually reduce their intake under this regime and many have quit entirely. The 130 beds in the annex are reserved for homeless chronic alcoholics. According to Dr. Tomislav Svoboda, a family physician attached to the program, it was opened as a result of the outcry that followed the deaths of three homeless alcoholics in the winter of 1995. Up until that time, welfare regulations prohibited alcoholics
from receiving benefits. According to Svoboda, "The poor in Toronto essentially lived in prohibition. Many individuals were forced to make a decision between shelter and use of a substance." A coroner
's inquest into the three deaths recommended the creation of a wet shelter. Following the introduction of the program, a study, published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal
in 2006 found that serving chronic street alcoholics controlled doses of alcohol also reduced their overall alcohol consumption. Researchers found that program participants cut their alcohol use from an average of 48 drinks a day when they entered the program to an average of 8 drinks and that their trips to hospital emergency rooms drop to an average of eight a month from 13.5 while encounters with the police fall to an average of 8.8 from 18.1.
residents for contributing to the deterioration of George Street and the surrounding area. The stretch of George Street between Dundas Street and Gerrard Street where Seaton House is located has been dubbed "crack alley" by neighbours. Community members allege that Seaton House does not properly supervise its residents who, they claim, can be seen on the street outside the facility dealing and smoking crack cocaine
. Toronto's director of hostel services rejects the charge of neglect saying that Seaton House and the city "work closely with Toronto Police Services to address the issue of drug dealers who may prey on the men that use the Seaton House program."
approved a plan to redevelop Seaton House in partnership with Spike Capital Corp., Kearns Mancini Architects and others who own properties around the shelter, on George Street. The plan will see the demolition of the current facility and the transformation of the street into a mix of commercial buildings, affordable housing, student rental properties and a redesigned shelter.
Homeless shelter
Homeless shelters are temporary residences for homeless people which seek to protect vulnerable populations from the often devastating effects of homelessness while simultaneously reducing the environmental impact on the community...
in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. It is located at 339 George Street near Dundas Street
Dundas Street (Toronto)
Dundas Street, also known as Highway 5 west of Toronto, is a major arterial road connecting the centre of that city with its western suburbs and southwestern Ontario beyond...
East, several blocks from Yonge Street
Yonge Street
Yonge Street is a major arterial route connecting the shores of Lake Ontario in Toronto to Lake Simcoe, a gateway to the Upper Great Lakes. It was formerly listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest street in the world at , and the construction of Yonge Street is designated an "Event of...
. The facility provides temporary lodging, food, clothing, medical care, for single men and also attempts to provide tools for enabling them to establish their independence. The shelter houses up to 700 men though, in the past, it has exceeded capacity and housed as many as 900 men.
Origins
The original Seaton House was built in 1931, during the Great DepressionGreat Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, to provide a place to sleep and meals for transient
Transient laborer
Transient laborers are people who offer their services for outdoor, usually home improvement work, for a fee. The term is chiefly American.Jobs include painting, driveway paving, snow removal, and other outdoor tasks. They may travel door-to-door to find work, usually in warm weather, and have a...
men seeking work. The facility moved to its current premises in 1959.
Facilities and regulations
There is room for 434 men in the main facility. 54 men are housed in the adjacent O'Neill House, a "time-out" facility for clients who are in crisis and unable to function within the main facility. During hot or cold weather alerts this facility is expanded to provide additional emergency shelter. An additional 140 men are housed in the Seaton House Annex through the Annex Harm Reduction Program. Until the 1990s, the shelter operated on a highly regimented basis imposing a series of rules and regulations including a ban on alcohol and requiring men to get out of bed by 5:15 am. A review of the shelter in the early 1990s was prompted by complaints of staff brutality and authoritarian regulations at the facility. Rules into the 1990s included a requirement to register for a bed by 1:30 pm. The hostel itself did not open until 4 pm and returning clients were expected to provide proof that they applied for at least three jobs during the day, the doors were locked at midnight and clients were expected to be in bed an hour earlier. Lights would go on at 5 am; breakfast was served at 5:30 am and 6:30 am and clients had to leave the premises by 7:30 am. Clients were expected to spend their days looking for work.Seaton House provides bathing facilities, delousing, a barber, laundry and lockers as well as counselling and life skills training. Typically, a client will sleep in a large room with several bunk beds and shared bathroom. Three meals a day are provided. Clothing and shoes are available, if needed, as well as medical care from doctors and nurses.
Satellite residences are operated at the Birchmount Residence in Scarborough, Ontario
Scarborough, Ontario
Scarborough is a dissolved municipality within the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Geographically, it comprises the eastern part of Toronto. It is bordered on the south by Lake Ontario, on the west by Victoria Park Avenue, on the north by Steeles Avenue East, and on the east by the Rouge River...
for men over 55 and at Downsview Dell in North York for men who have agreed to abstain from drugs and alcohol.
Funded by the provincial and city governments, the institution now operates on a 24-hour basis.
Clientele
Over the years, the clientele changed from unemployed transients looking for what little work they could find to a population composed largely of ex-psychiatric patients, alcoholics and drug addicts as well as the disabled, refugeeRefugee
A refugee is a person who outside her country of origin or habitual residence because she has suffered persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or because she is a member of a persecuted 'social group'. Such a person may be referred to as an 'asylum seeker' until...
s and others lacking family or community support have also ended up seeking temporary respite at Seaton House. In 1999, a sudden influx of Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
an refugees resulted in 53 of them being provided temporary residence at Seaton House. In 2002, several youths from Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
who arrived in Toronto to participate in the Catholic Church's World Youth Day
World Youth Day 2002
The 17th World Youth Day 2002 was a Catholic youth festival held from July 23 to July 28, 2002 in Toronto, Canada. World Youth Day is a celebration of faith begun by Pope John Paul II held on an international level every two to three years, and WYD2002 was the tenth such event. It was also Pope...
were housed in Seaton House after they requested asylum
Right of asylum
Right of asylum is an ancient juridical notion, under which a person persecuted for political opinions or religious beliefs in his or her own country may be protected by another sovereign authority, a foreign country, or church sanctuaries...
.
Harm reduction
Since 1997, the shelter has operated the Seaton House Annex Harm Reduction Program, a "wetWet
Wet may refer to:* The condition of being liquid or being covered in liquid* Adequately wet, environmental term referring to asbestos-containing material that is sufficiently mixed or penetrated with liquid to prevent the release of particulates...
shelter" operated in conjunction with staff from St. Michael's Hospital on the harm reduction
Harm reduction
Harm reduction refers to a range of public health policies designed to reduce the harmful consequences associated with recreational drug use and other high risk activities...
principle. Previously, Seaton House banned alcohol forcing many homeless alcoholics to stay on the street using unsafe sources of liquor such as rubbing alcohol, cleaners, and industrial products. Under the new "managed alcohol" policy clients enrolled in the program are served one drink every 90 minutes until it is determined that an individual is too inebriated at which point he is denied another shot. The clients have been found to gradually reduce their intake under this regime and many have quit entirely. The 130 beds in the annex are reserved for homeless chronic alcoholics. According to Dr. Tomislav Svoboda, a family physician attached to the program, it was opened as a result of the outcry that followed the deaths of three homeless alcoholics in the winter of 1995. Up until that time, welfare regulations prohibited alcoholics
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
from receiving benefits. According to Svoboda, "The poor in Toronto essentially lived in prohibition. Many individuals were forced to make a decision between shelter and use of a substance." A coroner
Coroner
A coroner is a government official who* Investigates human deaths* Determines cause of death* Issues death certificates* Maintains death records* Responds to deaths in mass disasters* Identifies unknown dead* Other functions depending on local laws...
's inquest into the three deaths recommended the creation of a wet shelter. Following the introduction of the program, a study, published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal
Canadian Medical Association Journal
The Canadian Medical Association Journal is a general medical journal that is published biweekly by the Canadian Medical Association . It covers research and ideas aimed at improving health for people in Canada and globally. CMAJ publishes original clinical research, analyses and reviews, news,...
in 2006 found that serving chronic street alcoholics controlled doses of alcohol also reduced their overall alcohol consumption. Researchers found that program participants cut their alcohol use from an average of 48 drinks a day when they entered the program to an average of 8 drinks and that their trips to hospital emergency rooms drop to an average of eight a month from 13.5 while encounters with the police fall to an average of 8.8 from 18.1.
Relations with neighbourhood
Seaton House is blamed by some CabbagetownCabbagetown, Toronto
Cabbagetown is a neighbourhood located on the east side of downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It comprises "the largest continuous area of preserved Victorian housing in all of North America", according to the Cabbagetown Preservation Association....
residents for contributing to the deterioration of George Street and the surrounding area. The stretch of George Street between Dundas Street and Gerrard Street where Seaton House is located has been dubbed "crack alley" by neighbours. Community members allege that Seaton House does not properly supervise its residents who, they claim, can be seen on the street outside the facility dealing and smoking crack cocaine
Crack cocaine
Crack cocaine is the freebase form of cocaine that can be smoked. It may also be termed rock, hard, iron, cavvy, base, or just crack; it is the most addictive form of cocaine. Crack rocks offer a short but intense high to smokers...
. Toronto's director of hostel services rejects the charge of neglect saying that Seaton House and the city "work closely with Toronto Police Services to address the issue of drug dealers who may prey on the men that use the Seaton House program."
Redevelopment
In late 2009, Toronto City CouncilToronto City Council
The Toronto City Council is the governing body of the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.Members represent wards throughout the city, and are known as councillors....
approved a plan to redevelop Seaton House in partnership with Spike Capital Corp., Kearns Mancini Architects and others who own properties around the shelter, on George Street. The plan will see the demolition of the current facility and the transformation of the street into a mix of commercial buildings, affordable housing, student rental properties and a redesigned shelter.