Our Neighborhood
Inner City Family Health Team is deeply committed to the Downtown East neighbourhood, where we've been located since our services began. We've built strong, lasting partnerships with local organizations and neighbours to respond to the area's disproportionate health and social needs.
While we support clients across the broader community of Toronto, our ongoing presence reflects our belief in place-based care, grounded in trust, accessibility, and a shared commitment to community well-being.
Toronto's Downtown East End is a microcosm of urban inequality and resilience. Our Moss Park, Regent Park, and St. James Town neighbourhoods are places where stark socioeconomic disparities exist, and give rise to pressing primary health care and housing needs. According to 2017 Census data, 44% of these households were at or below the poverty line, compared to 20 % citywide. Unemployment fuels poverty. Employment rates in the downtown east side trail city averages, with visible minorities and newcomers most impacted. Homelessness is acute. The 2021 city of Toronto Street Needs Assessment estimated 7,347 people were homeless citywide, with a substantial portion in the downtown east side due to our shelters and encampments. Moss Park, ICHFT's immediate neighbourhood, also has a significant Indigenous presence - 23% of Toronto's homeless population identified as Indigenous in 2021. Access to primary care for neighbourhood residents and transients is a glaring and ongoing challenge. Estimates vary, but the number of underserved in our neighbourhoods is easily greater than 10,000 and growing. ICFHT works diligently with our partners in healthcare, the shelter system, and other community-focused organizations to help meet these chronic unmet needs and leverage our shared experience. Equitable access to care for our diverse downtown east side population hinges on these critical partnerships, and our ability to strengthen our community hubs.