The Edwin is a three-storey building in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Ontario, Canada operated by WoodGreen Community Services to provide community housing. It incorporates the former New Edwin Hotel, built in 1905 to serve as a hotel for railway passengers coming from a now closed railway station at the foot of the Don Valley. It is located at the intersection of

Queen Street East Queen Street is a major east-west thoroughfare in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It extends from Roncesvalles Avenue and King Street (Toronto), King Street in the west to Victoria Park Avenue in the east. Queen Street was the cartographic baseline f ...

and Carroll Street, east of the Don River, in the

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subdistrict of South Riverdale. In 2010 it reopened to provide transitional housing for homeless senior men for a project called "First Step to Home", and was renamed "The Edwin".

History

The once dignified hotel for several decades was a seedy home for rent with daily and weekly rates. A portion of the lower floor was a nightclub. On April 1, 2008, it was purchased by WoodGreen Community Services for housing, and in March 2010 their non-profit housing program "First Steps To Home" opened. As a housing-first model, this housing was designed specifically to provide accommodation for street-involved and homeless men aged 55+. It has 28 self-contained units that provide "transitional housing" to fill the gap between a

homeless shelter Homeless shelters are a type of homeless service agency which provide temporary residence for homeless individuals and families. Shelters exist to provide residents with safety and protection from exposure to the weather while simultaneously r ...

and permanent

social housing Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, def ...

. Residents also receive support through a life-transition program to economic self-sufficiency by gaining new skills, training, and jobs through partnerships with other social service agencies and a number of major corporations.

References

* * Warmington, Joe. "The city's homeless will soon be moving on up with the help of the New Edwin Hotel. It's about time" ''

Toronto Sun The ''Toronto Sun'' is an English-language tabloid format, tabloid newspaper published daily in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The newspaper is one of several ''Sun'' tabloids published by Postmedia Network. The newspaper's offices is located at Pos ...

.'' Tue, May 13, 2008
WoodGreen Community Services

Homeless seniors have a place to call home

First Step to Home Success
{{DEFAULTSORT:Edwin Hotel buildings completed in 1905 Hotels in Toronto Railway hotels in Canada Defunct hotels in Canada Public housing in Canada 1905 establishments in Ontario