A sudden rise in the number of Londoners living in homeless encampments this month sparked a lengthy debate at city hall about how best to spend limited funding.
Six weeks after its launch, the Winter Response Program for Londoners experiencing homelessness has yet to open all of the additional overnight shelter beds. The city is providing $5 million to a group of frontline agencies led by London Cares to offer additional daytime and overnight spaces, but staffing the expanded shelters has slowed the roll out.