By Sarah Grishpul

Homeless Connect Toronto (HCT) welcomed over 1,000 of Toronto’s unhoused to their annual One-Stop-Shop support and services fair at the Mattamy Athletic Centre (MAC) on Oct. 26.

According to a City of Toronto 2024 Street Needs Assessment, an estimated 15,418 people were experiencing homelessness in Toronto. 41 per cent of those surveyed reported that a lack of funds was the cause of their homelessness.

“And we had a really good turnout actually, especially TMU. You guys showed up”

In 2024, the One-Stop-Shop brought in 1,241 people.

HCT’s executive director Melody Li said this year HCT expanded its volunteer base to support the rising number of attendees.

There were over 300 volunteers this year, with approximately 25 to 30 of them being Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) students, according to HCT’s program manager Chelsea Gagne.

“We really wanted to reach out to folks who are not only just in social services or community services, but a wide breadth of folks,” said Gagne.

“And we had a really good turnout actually, especially TMU. You guys showed up.”

The event offered access to over 80 social service agencies, healthcare providers, community organizations and local businesses, according to a press release by HCT. In her experience, Li said that their most visited stations were the clothing bank, haircuts, dental cleaning and eye and foot care services.

“There are things that sometimes you have to pay out of pocket for, you might need health insurance or additional health insurance and so it’s something that they can’t always get,” said Li.

She added that this year they provided a larger dental cleaning station and clothing bank with additional winter garments for the upcoming season.

Gagne said the organization is “purely run on volunteers’ care and love,” and that so many people come out with the intention to give back to the community.

“They really do come out for the goodness of their heart and just to be able to get outside of their comfort zones or just support where they can because homelessness is such a massive issue to tackle and we can’t do it alone,” said Gagne.

Naina Kapur is a first-year social work student at TMU and a first-time volunteer at the One-Stop-Shop.

Kapur always loved volunteering and signed up after she received an email through the school.

“The experience of talking with the guests and hearing what they’ve been through, it just makes me want to try and help them as best I can,” she said.

“We just want to make sure that people understand that we come from a client-centred, trauma-informed lens”

Kapur worked as a guide, spending the day answering questions and assisting attendees who needed help navigating the space and finding the services they needed.

According to Gagne, new volunteers are required to undergo a one-hour training session prior to the event.

“We do work with precariously-housed people who are going through really challenging times,” she said. “So we just want to make sure that people understand that we come from a client-centred, trauma-informed lens.”

Kapur said her volunteer experience made her want to return one day as a service provider.

“I think doing stuff like this outside of academics really helps me want to pursue this career,” she added.