The objective of the Street Needs Assessment (SNA) is to determine the services that

people who are homeless need in order to help them find and keep permanent housing.

It is also to determine the number of people who are homeless and living on Toronto’s

streets and in its public spaces, or staying in shelters, health and treatment facilities and

in correctional facilities for the purpose of assessing the location, scale and dimension of

service needs, and in planning appropriate program responses.

Toronto’s first Street Needs Assessment was conducted on April 19, 2006. On the

evening of April 15, 2009 the City’s second Street Needs Assessment was conducted

using a consistent, statistically valid methodology to ensure that results would be

comparable to those in 2006. The enumeration methodology and survey design were

developed in 2006 through extensive research and consultation with experts from other

jurisdictions, as well as with a range of local stakeholders.

As in 2006, the 2009 Street Needs Assessment was made possible through the

partnership of a wide range of individuals, community agencies, City Divisions and

provincial ministries, who contributed their time and effort to provide an up to date and

comprehensive picture of homelessness in the City of Toronto. In particular, the 2009

Street Needs Assessment would not have been possible without the participation of

more than 450 volunteers, along with 278 team leaders, who made it a success. With an

overall response rate of almost 40%, people who were homeless in the City of Toronto

once again took the opportunity to have their voices heard.

Please see the attached for the full report.