A Message from Tiny Tiny Homes

???We need your help urgently (today and tomorrow!)

In January, we met with the City of Toronto to discuss our life-saving emergency shelter initiative. During this meeting, we asked them to help us find more suitable locations for our emergency shelters. We thought the meeting had gone well, however, on?February 7, 2025, the?City of Toronto sent a letter to Tiny Tiny Homes, demanding that we?stop placing emergency shelters on City property and remove the existing ones. If we do not respond by?February 14—Valentine’s Day—the City says it will consider?legal and enforcement action?to remove the shelters! We have vulnerable people who need these shelters to keep warm and safe. The city has given us no alternative to ensure that these people don’t end up back outdoors.??Instead of supporting?life-saving shelters for people with nowhere else to go, we are very disappointed to see that the City appears to?prioritizing its property over its people, by choosing enforcement instead of solutions. We want them to work with us, not against us. That’s why today, we are responding with love, by launching a reactive community support campaign:?Show Some Love for Our Homeless. On Valentine’s Day, a day that’s meant to be about warming hearts, we need your support to demand that the City of Toronto?chooses love over enforcement.

???We have just days to make our voices heard! Here’s how YOU can help:

10 Ways You Can Take Action Right Now

??1. Sign & Share our Petition?– Sign the petition and share it with everyone you know:?change.org/tinytinyhomes

??2. Volunteer on the Ground?– We need?boots on the ground this Thursday (tomorrow), on Valentine's Day, and throughout the weekend?to help spread the word, put up posters, and talk to people about the campaign.?Reply to this email if you can help!

??3. Spread the Word About Our Campaign on social media?– We need Toronto and the rest of Canada to hear our message. Tell your family, friends, and colleagues about?Show Some Love for Our Homeless?and why we must all?fight for compassion over enforcement.? ??4.Download, Print, Display & Share Our Campaign Materials?–?Click here??to?download posters, social media graphics, and more

??5. Display Posters in Your Window?– Print and display a poster at home, in your car, your yard, driveway or window.?Ask local stores, cafes, businesses, and community spaces?to display them too!

??6. Share Share Share on Social Media?– Use our pre-designed?Campaign Materials?to post about the campaign or make your own videos and tag: ???#LoveForOurHomeless #TinyTinyHomes #HelpTheHomeless ??@tinytinyhomestotonto on Instagram ??@tinytinyhomes on TikTok ???@OliviaChow and @CityOfTo on Instagram

??@MayorOliviaChow on Twitter/X ???Your local city councillors ???Local and National Media ???Celebs and influencers

??7. Invite Local Businesses & Organizations to Support?– Ask your?workplace, school, or local community groups?to?support and share the campaign?to spread the word.

??8.??Write to the City Council?– Demand that Toronto should be choosing compassion over enforcement, and working with Tiny Tiny Homes to find solutions.?Here’s a template??to help you write to your local councillor and the mayor.

??9. Get Creative?– Show?love for our homeless?through?art, music, photography, poetry, or other creative ways?to raise awareness.

??10. Got a Tiny Bit Of Outdoor Space For an Emergency Shelter??– If you have a free?driveway, front yard, or even a car park if you run a business, if there’s space for a Tiny Tiny Home, you could show solidarity by offering a?safe place for someone in need to park their shelter—if the City won’t. We have posters to display if you’d like one.

???Why this REALLY matters:

• Toronto declared homelessness an emergency two years ago—but the crisis is still ongoing.
• Shelters are full, with on average 223 people being turned away every night.
• 135 unhoused people died in the first six months of 2024—that’s over five deaths per week.
• Women experiencing homelessness are 10 times more likely to die than their housed counterparts.
• Some people with disabilities, cancer, and PTSD cannot safely stay in overcrowded shelters—the system isn’t fit for some of their needs. Among those currently relying on these emergency shelters are:
• A cancer patient with a disability, who was found sleeping in a shop doorway before receiving an emergency shelter.
• A woman who used to sleep on street grids to stay warm, and feared for her safety in a tent, often unable to sleep at all at night.
• A man who became homeless after rent increases forced him out of his home, leaving him to survive on the streets in freezing temperatures.

Every Single Action Makes A Difference

Thank you again for standing with us. We have?just days to change the City’s minds.?Let’s make sure the City hears us loud and clear.

???Sign the petition & take action now:?change.org/tinytinyhomes Download and Share Campaigner Support Materials:?https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1aGruBWc1RnTWV0kpD-QOajz9rqvkF2iw?usp=sharing