38 Cowdy Street

Adelaide Street Shelter

Since 2023, the property at 38 Cowdy Street (Adelaide Street Shelter) has continued to operate as an emergency shelter and has provided critically needed accommodations to people facing homelessness. The shelter beds and homelessness services provided by Lionhearts Inc. at this location remain much needed in the community and when the shelter operations wind down and eventually cease, the beds and services provided at this site will need to be accommodated elsewhere in the community.

Shelter Operations

Emergency shelter operations at Adelaide Street Shelter are required to include a minimum of 48 beds as well as a bistro/rest area. When the Integrated Care Hub (ICH) operations were temporarily closed following September 12, 2024, the operations at Adelaide Street Shelter expanded to 63 beds, which were then expanded again to 77 beds as part of the Winter Response Plan and with additional funding provided through the Provincial Encampment Response Initiative funds.

Adelaide Street Shelter offers coed shelter for adults over the age of 25, couples are welcome, and storage and meals are provided on site. The shelter currently operates 7 days per week, from 9 p.m. to 9 a.m. each day. In addition to the shelter services described above, Lionhearts Inc. also provides drop-in and day services at the site. This includes access to washrooms, meals and scheduled programming and activities, including 3 computers. Initially these day services were only offered on weekends and statutory holidays, but they have now been expanded (May 2, 2025) to include daily on-site supports with a focus on Prevention Diversion, Street Outreach and Day Services programming such as independent living skills.

Wind Down and Relocation of Services

As part of the move to wind down shelter operations at 38 Cowdy Street the City is looking to acquire properties for the purpose of providing shelter operations in other areas of the city.

The first site the City has acquired for this purpose is 924 Sydenham Road. When emergency shelter services open at this new location, the shelter beds offered at 38 Cowdy site will be reduced by approximately half.

The City is also currently reviewing a second potential new shelter location elsewhere in the City. This acquisition is not yet finalized but the intent is to see a second new shelter operational in the first quarter of 2026 which will allow for the closure of shelter and emergency housing services at 38 Cowdy Street.

Operations and Wind Down Engagement

The City is committed to providing ongoing updates, receiving questions, and guiding a constructive community-led engagement process to the neighbourhood around Adelaide Street Shelter. The intent is to ensure clear and consistent communication with the community about the shelter services currently offered at the site and the steps being taken toward winding down these operations and fully closing shelter services at 38 Cowdy Street.

Upcoming community meeting dates are posted on the right side of this page, under Key Dates. Questions about the current Adelaide Street Shelter operations or the wind down plan for the site can be shared using the question tool below. Staff will aggregate questions by theme and respond through the frequently asked questions section of this project page.

Meeting notes, presentations, council reports and news releases will be shared through the links and related documents section of this project page.