This month the highest number of names will be added to the Toronto Homeless Memorial.
At least 27 homeless people who recently lost their lives in this city will join the growing tribute, which was conceived in 1997 by the late housing activist Bonnie Briggs and now commemorates the lives of approximately 1,200 people who died homeless.
Last December, the names of 10 lives lost were added to the monument. That number has now almost tripled.
“This is an inconceivable injustice. These are preventable deaths, and the city government must take action, ”the Shelter Housing Justice Network (SHJN), which fights for shelter, housing and human rights in Toronto and more, said in a December 14 news release. there.
“This recent surge in deaths comes on the heels of an already terrible year… Toronto is still in the midst of a global pandemic. Outbreaks in shelters continue. Many services are still suspended and the interior space is not accessible to hundreds of people living in camps. “
Among those remembered at the December 14 celebration are 19 people who died in Toronto’s shelter system during October, which is the latest information available.
“Shelter resident deaths are 78 percent higher in the first eight months of 2021 than in 2019,” said SHJN, noting that indigenous and black people in Toronto are disproportionately affected by the lack of of housing.
“As a result of sky-high rents, gentrification, a lack of (income-adapted) housing and an overwhelmed housing system, thousands of people suffer and many die.”
The group also pointed to the growing number of homeless people in this city who are dying from a drug overdose.
According to the city, “drug toxicity” accounted for 53 percent of all homeless deaths in Toronto in 2020. In the first six months of 2021, that number reached 49 percent. Overall, since Toronto Public Health began tracking homeless deaths in 2017, 40 percent of all deaths were caused by an OD.
As a result, SHJN has outlined a list of seven lawsuits:
1. The city council must immediately strike a task force charged with taking all reasonable measures to reduce such deaths.
2. Immediately expand prevention, education, training, and implementation of the Toronto Shelter and Hotel Overdose Preparedness Assessment Project recommendations.
3. Immediately add 2,250 non-congregated permanent refuge beds to the system.
4. Repeal the “no camping” statute.
5. Increase the 2021 newly awarded housing allowance target from 1,440 to 3,000.
6. Freeze all evictions with the emergency powers of the Civil Protection and Emergency Management Law.
7. Adopt SHJN Winter Plan In its whole.
In 2017, 101 homeless people died in Toronto. The average number of deaths per week was 1.9. Three years later, in 2020, 143 homeless people perished, while the average number of deaths per week rose to 2.8.
From January to the end of June this year, Toronto counted 94 such deaths with a weekly average of 3.6. The highest number of deaths recorded in the first six months of this year was 23 in May.
Every second Tuesday of the month, people gather in front of Holy Trinity Church in downtown Toronto for the Toronto Homeless Memorial. They cry, sing, talk and reflect on what many call people who die in “unnatural circumstances.” The service is also streamed live on Facebook.
The first monthly celebration, held in 2001, was organized in association with the defunct Toronto Disaster Relief Committee. All the names of the monument are also listed online.
Reference-www.thestar.com