A request for all city departments to prepare zero-increase budgets for 2019 could put new initiatives for Toronto’s homeless population on the chopping block.Senior staff have asked all divisions and agencies to prepare operating budgets equal to those approved for 2018, which would not take into account the effects of inflation, unionized salary increases and the city’s growing population.The request sets the stage for council to have its annual debate about which programs — some of which have already been approved — will actually be funded. In the past, that has left advocates and front-line workers scrambling to fight for investment.The board of health’s budget committee will be one of the first to consider a 2019 budget request on Tuesday, when it hears from Toronto Public Health. Its report is seeking an increase of 2 per cent, or $1.32 million, to fund council-approved outreach to those experiencing homelessness, among other initiatives. Read more: City unveils winter plan including prefabricated structures to house homeless during cold weatherIn Toronto, we trust: Groundbreaking study shows city’s social capital is remarkably highUnreleased City of Toronto draft reports urged council to stop risky ‘underinvestment’ in housing, transitThe proposals include keeping on six additional outreach workers and a supervisor to work on safer drug use with users and the homeless population in the eastern part of downtown, training on overdose prevention (including administering the life-saving drug naloxone), and referrals to other services.These types of resource, the report to the board of health says, would increase referrals to other health and social services and reduce public drug use, discarded needles and overdose deaths. These requests come at a time as the city continues to experience an opioid epidemic that claimed 308 lives in 2017. Other initiatives requiring new funds include preventing the spread of infe ...
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