Making the Economic Case for Social Housing in Toronto, Canada

Homelessness in Toronto is costing far more than it should – roughly 11 times more every night, according to calculations done by the Downtown Yonge BIA.

Downtown Yonge has produced an infographic, titled One Night in Toronto, providing a straightforward illustration of the point.

In an easy-to-read flowchart factoring in the number of homeless people in shelters, on the streets (necessitating police wellbeing checks), in correctional facilities and in health care facilities, the infographic shows a cost of more than $420,000 per night. That same number of people in social housing would cost less than $35,000 per night.

See infographic below: