A shocking miscommunication left a group of people gathered in the tiny trailer at Moss Park on a frigid Saturday night scrambling to find shelter, unaware that there was still space available at some of the city’s respite centres.Gillian Kolla, a Toronto Overdose Prevention Society staff member at the park’s supervised injection site, raised the alarm on Twitter late Saturday when she said she was told there was no space available on a night that felt like minus 29 C with the wind chill.City staff, however, said Sunday there was available space, including room for almost 40 more people at the Better Living Centre.There was also space at a women’s respite centre on Cowan Ave. and the Streets to Homes Assessment and Referral Centre on Peter St., which doesn’t have beds but is open for people to keep warm over night.Mayor John Tory released a statement regarding the issue, adding that he supports the shelter staff in deciding “when, and if extra capacity is required.”“The Better Living Centre can accommodate 110 people right now, it is open 24/7, and it is a city-owned site,” Tory said.Tory added that the city outreach team will visit the Moss Park overdose prevention site on Sunday night to “ensure anyone who needs shelter is able to access it.”Read more:Extreme cold weather alert issued for Toronto as New Year’s Eve festivities scaled backBetter Living Centre shelter half-empty amid frigid cold in TorontoYet Kolla said she was told there was no space available when she called the city’s central intake and the Better Living Centre trying to find shelter for the people who had gathered at the Moss Park injection site, which closed at 10 p.m. Saturday.“We’re not there to be a warming centre, but we’re the only warm thing in Moss Park,” she said.With no other options available, Kolla said she handed out gift cards so people could keep warm in coffee shops.With an extreme ...
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