Eighteen vulnerable people in Toronto were given a warm bed this week, thanks to a New Year’s Eve scramble by a hastily assembled team of local advocates, street teams, business owners and restaurant staff.

A pregnant woman and her partner were among the group given refuge at the turn of the year. All rooms have been renewed again for Monday night.

Jennifer Evans — the driving force behind the project — never expected her New Year’s to be spent corralling volunteers and arranging hotel rooms. But a miscommunication about the availability of Toronto homeless shelters this weekend turned her ear to the problem.

Conflicting information on whether shelters had any available room meant some were left seeking refuge. On Saturday night, Evans — who’s also CEO of SqueezeCMM and B2B News Network — spied a tweet about the shelter intake centre on Peter Street.

“They were going to start turning people out,” Evans told the Star. “The volunteers had to go home and they had no place to send people.” She offered to man the desk and keep the centre open, or to pay for hotel rooms for those without a place to stay.

That’s when the ripple effect began. Over the last two days, people across the city have followed suit, pledging to cover the cost of 165 hotel rooms if and when they’re needed through the rest of the winter.

“I do feel there is responsibility for the community to step in,” Evans said. “Government is not a fast-moving entity. It’s a bureaucratic body, and if we can cover some of the people who fall through the cracks in the interim, and catch them, and then refer them back in the system? That seems like a great solution.”

Since Sunday night, 18 vulnerable people have needed rooms. Many are long-term homeless, with some unable to go to a shelter due to past bad experiences or a difficulty giving up remaining possessions in exchange for a roof overhead. Booking hotel rooms on New Year’s Eve didn’t come cheap, either. That’s where Paramount Fine Foods CEO Mohamad Fakih came in.

Fakih has covered the entire bill, of approximately $2,800 to $3,000 so far. He was brought onboard on Saturday night by a friend overseas. “He called me and said Jennifer Evans is looking for help,” Fakih told the Star Monday.

Fakih and Evans had never met. But his overseas friend told him what was going on, and Fakih asked for Evans’ phone number. At the time, everything was under control. But then came New Year’s Eve.

“The whole thing crashed down on her head, the poor thing, around 4 or 5 in the afternoon,” Fakih said. Earlier on, he’d gotten a call from Evans, asking if he was still ready to help if needed. It may escalate to 15 people or more, she had warned him. “Whatever it is, we’ll deal with it,” he said.

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A street team was out looking for those who needed accommodation. When the rush came, Fakih started phoning his staff. He worried about intruding on their holidays but they jumped on board. “I’m very proud of my team,” he said. “They stood up and said, ‘Yeah, let’s do it. Midnight, overnight, it doesn’t matter.’ ”

Calling around for rooms was complicated — not only were hotels asking as much as $300 or $400 per night, but some were declining when they heard what the situation was. But rooms were eventually found for all 16 people.

Evans said the Pearson Strathcona and Central Hotel were a great help. The Paramount team brought deliveries of food to their hotels, and medication was sent where it was needed. Fakih has footed the bill for Monday, too.

“Jennifer did the hardest work,” Fakih told the Star. “There are a lot of good people involved. It’s not just about who pays the money. It’s about the intention behind what everyone can do, and get it done.”