Canada's first hospital-led supportive housing initiative will soon open its doors to 51 UHN patients.
Dunn House, a partnership between UHN's Gattuso Centre for Social Medicine, the City of Toronto, United Way of Greater Toronto and Fred Victor, is set to begin welcoming the tenants in November, providing safe, permanent, accessible and affordable housing to a group of UHN's most medically and socially complex patients, who are unhoused and frequently visit the hospital's Emergency Department.
Previously a parking lot, the new four-storey modular building on Dunn Avenue in Toronto's Parkdale neighbourhood is built on land owned by UHN and leased to the City of Toronto.
"Evidence has demonstrated the inextricable relationship between housing and health," Dr. Kevin Smith, UHN's President & CEO, said at a ribbon cutting event on Thursday, Oct. 3 at Dunn House. "As Canada's largest hospital and research system, UHN recognizes that basic needs like stable housing, food security and income are just as integral to a healthy society as an effective hospital system."
At UHN, the top 100 patients without fixed addresses accounted for more than 4,309 Emergency Department (ED) visits over the past year.
The 51 patients moving into Dunn House are also cross-referenced with the City's list of all individuals experiencing homelessness in Toronto and prioritized based on individual needs, circumstances and the length of time they have had no fixed address. The initiative particularly focuses on supporting individuals exiting homelessness, including women, Indigenous Peoples and people with disabilities.
"A Canadian-first, UHN social medicine housing integrates health care services with community-based supports for our most medically and socially complex patients with the highest utilization of Emergency Department and hospital readmissions," said Dr. Smith.
"We are grateful to all orders of government, our partners and valued donors for helping us realize this vision, which we hope will be a model to strengthen the health of Canadians and our health system."
People who are chronically unhoused live half as long as those who are housed, experience accelerated aging, have many more comorbidities and develop serious health conditions at a much younger age.
The homelessness crisis is a health crisis, highlighting the pressing need for stable housing and integrated health care services.
"The innovative supportive housing initiative at 90 Dunn Ave. is a great example of how partnerships across governments, the non-profits and the health care sector can work together to support people and address homelessness," said Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow.
"The City is honoured to be part of this historic collaboration that brings to life Canada's first-ever social medicine housing initiative. This site will bring meaningful change to the lives of the people moving into these homes and help guide our ongoing response to Toronto's housing and homelessness crises."
In this unique model, Fred Victor, a social service charitable organization, will manage and operate the 51 accessible and affordable housing units, communal areas, the community garden and the on-site commercial kitchen. Its staff will provide housing stabilization supports, social and community integration services, daily meals, integrated mental health support, harm reduction services, personal support worker services to clients with physical disabilities, as well as justice and system navigation support.
"Fred Victor is proud to bring our 100+ years of experience helping people rebuild their lives to this social medicine housing initiative," said Keith Hambly, CEO of Fred Victor. "It's clear that the solution to homelessness is more housing — transitional housing, supported housing and deeply affordable housing in every neighbourhood of our city.
"People can't improve their health, maintain employment, care for themselves or those they love without a home. This project is a shining example of what we need to be doing more of in our city and beyond."
The aim of Dunn House is to improve health outcomes, with reductions in ED visits and hospital readmissions by providing the most vulnerable UHN patients with dignified permanent housing options and on-site supports that are tailored to the needs of each tenant.
Each studio apartment is 275-square-foot and pet-friendly with a kitchenette, a living room area, a bedroom and a bathroom. There will be 15 barrier-free units for people who use mobility devices.
Co-designed with UHN's Social Medicine Lived Experience Advisory Council, the model for Dunn House was shaped by an extensive consultation process with international experts, community organizations, and people with lived experience of homelessness, substance use and mental health challenges.
"The data is clear — homelessness is a terminal condition," said Dr. Andrew Boozary, Executive Director of UHN's Gattuso Centre for Social Medicine. "On average, patients who are unhoused live nearly 20 years less. The health care costs are seven times higher.
"In medicine, we have been left to treat these pathologies of poverty with Band-Aid solutions, and witness the cruel cycle that our patients are trapped in. UHN's Social Medicine Housing Initiative is an evidence-informed response to the health and homelessness crisis in Toronto.
"We hope to set a new and scalable standard for how health care systems can address the social determinants of health and create lasting, impactful change in people's lives."
