Readers Choice: Toronto’s One Great Idea
Star readers voted to prioritise hospital-style mental health care in shelters, followed by more public washrooms and park kiosks. Here are the top ideas and next steps.
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By Torontoer Staff
Star readers have chosen a plan to bring hospital-style psychiatric care into homeless shelters as the city’s One Great Idea. The proposal, modelled on Montreal’s PRISM program and submitted by psychiatrist David Heath, topped a public vote of 20 finalists.
The vote identified a clear priority: readers want immediate, practical interventions for people experiencing mental illness and homelessness, alongside improvements to public spaces. More than 1,700 votes supported congestion pricing for cars, while ideas such as public washrooms and park kiosks also polled strongly.
How the vote worked
The contest invited readers to submit ideas and then vote on 20 finalists over two weeks in November and December. The ballot allowed a separate yes or no vote for each idea and a final selection of one favourite. Final scores combined yes votes and final-ballot selections, minus no votes. The exercise was unscientific and offered no prizes. Organisers detected no obvious attempts at mass voting or bot manipulation.
The winning idea: PRISM-style care in shelters
Heath’s submission proposes adapting Montreal’s PRISM model to Toronto. The program embeds psychiatric treatment in modified shelter spaces, providing private rooms and a mix of medical and social supports. The goal is to treat acute psychiatric symptoms while also addressing housing, benefits and other social needs.
The results from Montreal, 75 per cent of participants getting housed and two thirds remaining housed one year after treatment, is incredibly impressive.
Peter Martin, housing solutions manager, Toronto Alliance to End Homelessness
Martin and Heath have already begun groundwork for a Toronto pilot. They say a single shelter could be converted with minor renovations to create eight to 12 private rooms. Staffing would include a dedicated shelter worker, a psychiatric nurse, a social worker and a part-time psychiatrist provided by a partnering hospital. They hope for a city council endorsement by late spring and a pilot operating in a not-for-profit shelter by the fall.
Other top ideas
Readers favoured measures that improve accessibility and everyday life across the city. Second place went to a proposal for 24/7 public washrooms with flush toilets and running water in parks and subway stations, while third place supported allowing small kiosks serving coffee and snacks in parks.
It is an ongoing daily life thing for me, and a basic accessibility issue for many others.
Rosa, One Great Idea voter and public washroom advocate
I would approach it as a pilot program, similar to the way they approached allowing alcohol in parks.
Grant Oyston, kiosk proposal
- Replicate Montreal’s PRISM program in Toronto shelters, to provide psychiatric treatments in modified shelter spaces — David Heath
- Provide 24/7 restrooms with flush toilets and running water in parks and subway stations — Rosa
- Allow more park kiosks offering espresso, ice cream and simple food with outdoor seating — Grant Oyston
- Set up community centre medical hubs to serve neighbourhoods — Felicia Alli
- Create a linked 'Iceway Network' of skating routes on select paths in winter — Jeremey Nelson
- Implement congestion pricing and direct revenue to public transit — Sharon Bider
- Pursue greater municipal autonomy from the province — Carol Damioli
- Launch a citywide thorough cleaning campaign — Gary
- Adopt a rule to avoid left turns when driving on streetcar tracks — Cameron MacLeod
- Establish a Toronto museum at Old City Hall — Jeffrey Kay
Polarizing entries and surprises
Some ideas divided readers sharply. The most polarizing suggestion was regular Porch Days, which aimed to encourage neighbours to sit outside and interact. A creative winter concept to convert bike lanes into a citywide skating network ranked fifth overall by combined votes, but few people chose it as their single favourite in the final round.
From idea to implementation
The contest was designed to surface practical ideas for civic leaders and community groups, and to prompt discussion about feasibility. The PRISM model has a track record in Quebec, where the provincial government has integrated similar programs and scaled several sites. That track record, combined with local champions and a clear pilot plan, increases the chance Toronto will take concrete steps.
This project also highlighted smaller, immediately actionable suggestions. Public washrooms and park kiosks are both straightforward to pilot, and city staff have precedent for testing changes to park use. Traffic-signal priority for streetcars, another reader idea, has already become part of public debate following problems with a new LRT launch.
A correction: Peter Martin is the housing solutions manager for the Toronto Alliance to End Homelessness.
The vote showed readers prioritise care that combines health services with social supports, alongside improvements to public infrastructure. The next step is turning those preferences into pilot projects and policy decisions that city leaders can adopt.
homelessnessmental healthpublic policyToronto
