Daily Shelter & Overnight Service Usage

This page reports data on the daily occupancy and capacity of Toronto’s shelter system. It is a daily snapshot of the occupancy and capacity of the system, updated every day except weekends and holidays; data for weekends and holidays are posted on the next business day.

Service location and program-level details are available from 2021 to present in the Daily Shelter & Overnight Service Occupancy & Capacity data set on the City’s Open Data portal. Historic data from 2017 to 2020 for pre-COVID base shelter system programs remain available on the portal in the Daily Shelter Occupancy data set.

Additional information about people experiencing homelessness who are entering and leaving the shelter system each month is available on the Shelter System Flow Dashboard.

To request access to available emergency shelter space, call Central Intake at 416-338-4766 or 1-877-338-3398.

Occupancy Summary Individuals
All Programs, Total 9,792
Shelter Programs, Room-Based, Total 3,244
Singles Sector Programs, Total 6,546
   Shelter Programs, Singles, Total 3,856
   Allied Services, Total 471
   COVID-19 Programs, Total 2,219
COVID-19 Isolation/Recovery Programs 2
Shelter Programs, Room-Based Individuals Occupied Rooms Unoccupied Rooms Actual Room Capacity Occupancy Rate
Family Sector, Total 2,536 758 0 759 99.9%
   Families, Emergency Shelter Programs 644 198 0 198 100.0%
   Families, Transitional Shelter Programs 313 105 0 106 99.1%
   Families, Motel/Hotel Programs 1,579 455 0 455 100.0%
Single Sector Motel/Hotel, Total 708 357 0 357 100.0%
Shelter Programs, Bed-Based Individuals Occupied Beds Unoccupied Beds Actual Bed Capacity Occupancy Rate
Singles Sectors, Total 3,856 3,856 18 3,874 99.5%
   Emergency Shelter Programs, Total 3,200 3,200 8 3,208 99.8%
      Mixed Adult, Emergency 588 588 2 590 99.7%
      Men, Emergency 1,519 1,519 0 1,519 100.0%
      Women, Emergency 690 690 0 690 100.0%
      Youth, Emergency 403 403 6 409 98.5%
   Transitional Shelter Programs, Total 656 656 10 666 98.5%
      Mixed Adult, Transitional 141 141 0 141 100.0%
      Men, Transitional 215 215 2 217 99.1%
      Women, Transitional 116 116 1 117 99.1%
      Youth, Transitional 184 184 7 191 96.3%
Allied Services Individuals Occupied Spaces Unoccupied Spaces Actual Space Capacity Occupancy Rate
Allied Services, Total 471 471 1 472 99.8%
   24-Hour Respites 404 404 0 404 100.0%
   24-Hour Women’s Drop-ins 67 67 1 68 98.5%
COVID-19 Programs, Bed/space-based Individuals Occupied Beds/Spaces Unoccupied Beds/Spaces Actual Bed/Space Capacity Occupancy Rate
24-Hour Temporary Response Sites 50 50 0 50 100.0%
COVID-19 Programs, Room/unit based Individuals Occupied Rooms Unoccupied Rooms Actual Room Capacity Occupancy Rate
Hotels 2,169 1,805 7 1,812 99.6%
COVID-19 Isolation/Recovery Programs Individuals Occupied Rooms Unoccupied Rooms Actual Room Capacity Occupancy Rate
COVID-19 Isolation/Recovery Programs Combined Total 2 2 0 2 100.0%

About the Data

  • Daily reporting includes occupancy, vacancy, and capacity data for the shelter and overnight services system. It is based on a snapshot of the system at 4 a.m.
  • Please note that as of April 23, 2024, hotel-based programs for refugee claimants operated by the Canadian Red Cross Society have been added to the database that supports this reporting. These programs are not new. They have been recategorized to be included in the City’s Daily Shelter & Overnight Service Usage database to more accurately reflect shelter system use in Toronto.
  • Individuals includes a count of all people served in a service area, sector, or program.
  • Reporting of occupancy and capacity is based on the capacity type of programs being reported. Capacity type refers to whether the capacity for a program is measured in rooms or beds.
    • Bed Based Capacity: A program where occupancy is measured at the bed level. Typically applicable for programs with common sleeping areas.
    • Room Based Capacity: A program where occupancy is measured at the room level. Typically applicable to family programs or hotel-based programs where sleeping rooms are not shared between households.
  • Occupancy is reported according to the capacity type of a program, and refers to the number of rooms or beds showing as occupied.
  • Unoccupied rooms or beds is also reported according to capacity type, and refers to the number of rooms or beds that were showing as available for occupancy that were not occupied.
  • Actual capacity provides the total count of available beds or rooms available in the system. It is equal to the occupied capacity plus the unoccupied capacity of a program.
  • The number of total individuals served is greater than the occupancy or capacity in room-based programs, as more than one individual may stay in room based programs where there are couples or family households.
  • Occupancy rate is calculated as occupancy divided by actual capacity. For room-based programs, the occupancy rate is calculated as the number of occupied rooms as a percentage of actual room capacity. For bed-based programs, the occupancy rate is calculated as the number of occupied beds or spaces divided by the actual bed capacity.
  • We will continue to update and improve these data and reporting processes on an ongoing basis, and based on further feedback, in the spirit of continuous improvement.
  • Further definitions about housing & homelessness services can be found in the Housing & Homelessness Services Glossary, which you can find on the Housing Stability Service System Overview web page.