Finding a safe place to sleep tonight
If you have nowhere to go tonight, the fastest way to find a bed near you is to call or text 211. It is free, confidential, open 24 hours in most of Canada, and the person who answers knows the shelters, drop-ins and outreach teams in your area.
- Call 211 (or search 211.ca). Tell them your city or town, whether you have a partner, pet or children with you, and anything about your health or mobility they should know. Ask which shelters have space tonight and what time they close their doors.
- Ask about low-barrier shelters if you drink or use drugs. A low-barrier shelter will not turn you away for being intoxicated, for using, or for not having ID. Many cities have at least one. Some even let you store your stuff and come and go.
- Go early. Many shelters fill up by evening. If you can, arrive in the afternoon. If you can't get to the shelter, ask 211 whether an outreach van or street team can reach you.
- If every shelter is full, ask about overflow spaces, church or community warming centres, 24-hour drop-ins and extreme weather beds. When it's very cold or very hot, many cities open extra spaces that are not listed anywhere else.
- If you are sick, injured, or in withdrawal, go to a hospital emergency department. You cannot be refused emergency care in Canada because you have no address. Tell the staff you have nowhere safe to go when you leave. Hospitals have social workers whose job includes this.
"I'm homeless in [city] and I need a bed tonight. I [use a wheelchair / have a mental health condition / drink every day / use drugs / have a dog / am with my partner]. What's open, and how do I get there?" You don't have to share anything you don't want to, but the more they know, the better they can match you with somewhere that will actually take you.
Types of places you can go
Emergency shelters
A bed or mat for the night. Some are for men, women, youth, families or 2SLGBTQ+ people. Some ask you to leave in the morning; others let you keep your bed for weeks. Ask about the rules before you go.
Low-barrier & harm-reduction shelters
Built for people who use substances or have complex needs. Fewer rules, no sobriety requirement, often with nurses, naloxone and staff trained in overdose response on site.
Drop-in centres
Somewhere warm and dry during the day or overnight. Usually coffee, a meal, washrooms, sometimes showers, laundry, phones and workers who can help with ID, benefits and housing.
Women's & violence shelters
If you are fleeing violence, a women's shelter or transition house is safer than a general shelter and the address is kept confidential. Find them at sheltersafe.ca or through 211.
Detox / withdrawal management
If you want to stop drinking or using, a withdrawal management centre gives you a bed, food and medical support for several days. It is also a safe place to sleep. Ask 211 or a hospital to refer you.
Warming & cooling centres
Opened by cities during cold snaps, snowstorms, heat waves and wildfire smoke. Often no ID, no questions. Announced on local news, city websites and by 211.
What to bring (if you can)
- Any ID you have, even if it's expired or just a photocopy.
- Your medications, in their original labelled bottles if possible, and a list of what you take and the doses.
- Mobility aids, hearing aids, glasses, CPAP machine, chargers.
- A phone and charger, even an old phone that only works on Wi-Fi.
- One small bag of essentials. Many shelters have limited storage, so keep valuables and papers on your body.
If a shelter turns you away
Shelters sometimes ban or refuse people. Ask calmly why, how long the ban lasts, and where they suggest you go instead. Most shelters are supposed to help you find another option before they turn you away. If you believe you were refused because of a disability, a mental health condition or an addiction, that may be discrimination. See Your rights. Write down the date, the time, the name of the shelter and who you spoke to.
Try to stay near other people you trust rather than completely alone, especially if you drink or use. Tell someone where you'll be. Stay out of doorways where you might be hit by vehicles, and away from rail lines, riverbanks and underpasses that can flood. Read Staying safe outside below.
Staying safe outside
Canada's weather can kill. So can being alone and unseen. These are the things outreach workers most want people sleeping outside to know.
Cold: hypothermia and frostbite
Hypothermia can happen well above freezing if you are wet, tired, underfed, or have been drinking or using. Alcohol makes you feel warmer while your body actually loses heat faster. Opioids, benzodiazepines and many psychiatric medications also make it harder to notice you're getting dangerously cold.
- Stay dry above all. Wet clothes pull heat from your body many times faster than dry ones. Change wet socks as soon as you can. Carry a spare pair in a plastic bag.
- Layer up. Several thin layers are warmer than one thick one. Wool and synthetic fabrics keep you warm even when damp; cotton does not.
- Get off the ground. The ground steals heat. Sleep on cardboard, a foam mat or anything that puts a layer between you and the concrete or snow.
- Cover your head, hands and feet. Ask drop-ins and outreach for hats, gloves, socks, hand warmers and emergency blankets. They usually have them free.
- Eat and drink water. Your body needs fuel to make heat.
- Never use a candle, stove, heater or barbecue inside a tent or enclosed space. Carbon monoxide has no smell and kills people in their sleep every winter. Fire in tents also kills.
is shivering uncontrollably and then stops shivering, is confused or slurring, is very sleepy and hard to wake, has pale, hard or waxy skin on fingers, toes, ears or face, or has taken their clothes off in the cold (this is a sign of severe hypothermia, not of feeling warm).
Heat and smoke
Heat waves are now one of the biggest killers of people who live outside in Canada. Some medications (many antipsychotics, antidepressants, blood pressure drugs) and stimulants such as meth and cocaine make heatstroke much more likely.
- Find shade, a library, a mall, a cooling centre or a drop-in during the hottest hours.
- Drink water often, even if you don't feel thirsty. Ask any restaurant, library or drop-in to fill your bottle.
- During wildfire smoke, stay indoors if at all possible. Ask outreach for an N95 mask.
- Call 911 if someone is hot and confused, has stopped sweating, has a seizure or collapses.
Keeping yourself and your things safe
- Buddy up. People who sleep near someone they trust are safer from assault, theft and fatal overdose.
- Carry the important things on your body: ID, bank card, medications, phone. A small cross-body bag worn under your coat is harder to steal.
- Take photos of your ID, health card and prescriptions, and email them to yourself. If the originals are stolen, those photos make replacing them much easier.
- Store what you can. Some drop-ins, shelters and cities offer free lockers or storage. Ask.
- Trust your gut. If a place or person feels wrong, leave.
Women, trans and two-spirit people
Women, trans, non-binary and two-spirit people face much higher rates of assault, exploitation and trafficking when homeless. Women's shelters, 2SLGBTQ+-specific shelters and Indigenous-led shelters exist in many cities and are often safer than general shelters. Ask 211 for them directly. If someone is controlling you, taking your money or ID, or forcing you to do things in exchange for a place to stay, you can call the Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-833-900-1010, 24/7 and confidential.
Pets
Many people won't go into a shelter because they won't abandon their animal. That's understandable. Ask 211 which shelters accept pets. Some cities also have free vet clinics and pet-food banks for people who are homeless. Some humane societies and SPCAs will foster your animal temporarily while you get housed, and give them back.
Food, showers, laundry and the basics
Almost every Canadian city and many towns have free meals, food banks, showers and clothing. They are just hard to find unless someone tells you. 211 has the lists; so do drop-in centres and outreach workers.
Hot meals
Community meal programs, soup kitchens, churches, mosques, gurdwaras (which serve free meals, called langar, to anyone), missions and drop-ins. Many cities publish a free meal calendar. Ask 211 or any drop-in for it.
Food banks
Most food banks give groceries. If you have nowhere to cook, tell them. Many have "no-cook" or ready-to-eat hampers. You usually need to live in the area, but most will help with no fixed address. Find one through Food Banks Canada or 211.
Showers & laundry
Drop-ins, some shelters, community centres, YMCAs and some public pools. A few cities have mobile shower trucks. Community centres sometimes waive fees if you ask.
Washrooms
Libraries, community centres, transit stations, malls, hospitals and many drop-ins. Public libraries are also warm, have free Wi-Fi and computers, and staff who will help you look things up.
Clothing & gear
Drop-ins, outreach vans, Salvation Army, church clothing banks and street-involved programs give out clothes, boots, sleeping bags, backpacks and hygiene kits free.
Phone & internet
Free Wi-Fi at libraries, many cafés, transit stations and drop-ins. Some programs give out free or cheap phones and plans to people who are homeless. Ask your caseworker or a drop-in. A phone number is one of the most useful things you can have for housing and benefits.
Getting mail without an address
You need a way to receive letters about benefits, ID, health appointments and housing. Options:
- A shelter or drop-in address. Many will receive mail for people who use their services. Ask.
- Canada Post General Delivery. You can have mail sent to a post office in your name and pick it up with ID. It's meant for people without a fixed address and is available for a limited time.
- A trusted friend or family member who will let you use their address.
- Your caseworker's office, if you have one.