Save the School House: Defend a Harm Reduction Shelter! Stop the Cuts in the Downtown East!

Rally:
Wednesday, March 7th
5pm at 349 George St. (School House)

The School House was first opened in the 1970s, it is a 55 (paid) bed facility for men in the downtown east end of Toronto. It was one of the first shelters in Canada to operate from a harm reduction perspective. Schoolhouse is one of very few harm reduction focused shelters in this city. Schoolhouse also has 55 beds, at a time when most shelters are at capacity and when we face a deepening housing crisis in this city. There are 79 000 housholds on the waiting list for social housing in Toronto, a list that is estimated to be at least a decade long. Most poor people are priced out of the private market with the average bachelor apartment ranging around $777 a month while the base amount for welfare is only $599.

Schoolhouse is a vital service in this neighborhood that needs to be defended!

To break the silence on this closure, and to demand that this shelter remain open, we are calling for a rally to take place outside of Schoolhouse (349 George Street) on Wednesday, March 7th at 5pm.

Rally to defend this vital service in our community!

This rally is organized by: The Downtown East Stop the Cuts Committee, Ontario Coalition Against Poverty, Health Providers Against Poverty, and the Harm Reduction Coalition.

To endorse this event, or for more information contact the Downtown East Stop the Cuts Committee: TorontoDTE@gmail.com or OCAP: 416-925-6939

www.torontostopthecuts.com