New facility to house asylum seekers in Toronto with mental health services on site
Written by The Canadian Press on April 15, 2025
TORONTO — A new facility designed to house and support refugees and asylum seekers in Toronto is set to open next month with a focus on addressing mental health issues.
The Canadian Mental Health Association in Toronto says Carlton House will accommodate up to 25 adults for six months to a year and provide them with help to find jobs and permanent housing.
CEO Michael Anhorn says the facility will open in early May for clients who are in Toronto’s homeless shelter system.
He says Carlton House will provide people living in it with health services, including connecting them to primary care, as well as mental health services by specialists working on site.
Anhorn says Canadian Mental Health Association staff saw a need for a new housing facility that focuses on mental health, after they volunteered to provide mental health support for refugees and asylum seekers housed in churches in north Toronto.
The association says the City of Toronto is housing more than 10,000 people in shelters and hotels, and 47 per cent of them are asylum seekers.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 15, 2025.
The Canadian Press