Toronto marks 500th homeless death

Grim milestone for homeless

Toronto Star
Tuesday November 14, 2006

COLIN JOHNSON AND JOHN BREWIN

Imagine an entire busload of people dying in a horrible crash, because of faulty brakes. Cries of outrage, coupled with demands for improved safety inspections, would immediately dominate our newscasts, newspapers, government legislatures and water-cooler conversations.


Now try to imagine, if you can, 12 busloads of people perishing. Imagine the uproar that would provoke, especially if the victims were innocent schoolchildren.


We would all be appalled at such a terrible loss of human life. We all hold up the value of every human life and deplore needless deaths ... or do we?


It's not clear that we do. Nestled behind the Eaton Centre, in front of Holy Trinity Anglican Church, is a stark, shocking memorial.


It lists the names of those who have perished on the streets of Toronto for lack of housing. Many are only known as "Jane Doe" or "John Doe."


Each month, new names are added to this list at a simple ceremony of remembrance. The 500th name will be added to this death toll today.


Five hundred lives - each as precious as yours or mine - snuffed out because of the lack of something as basic and simple as providing a roof over one's head.


As our wealthy society tolerates the growing death toll of homeless people, it's hard not to believe that some of us are deemed more valuable than others.


Political developments, and non-developments, bear sad testimony to this.


Witness, as recently reported, our provincial government putting $392 million for badly needed affordable housing projects into a contingency fund, instead of into new housing construction, because of a funding dispute with the federal government.


Witness the federal government refusing to renew an excellent program which funds housing programs in Toronto and across Canada called the Supporting Community Partnerships Initiative, even as it struggles with how to dispose of billions of dollars of surplus revenues.


Witness the thousands of people in our city and region who endure terribly degrading conditions, again because of a lack of funding to repair their rundown apartments.


The Anglican Church in the Diocese of Toronto, like other advocates for affordable housing, wants the provincial government to release the unspent funds it has for housing and to devote significant resources to housing in its next budget. If more faith communities and community partners take up this call as well, it can create powerful support leading to the policy changes so badly needed.


Yet by no means do we believe that this is only an issue for government to address. All of us need to be part of the solution.


What is God inviting us to do to meet the needs of those who spend half or more of their income on rent? About seniors inadequately housed? For parents forced to make the terrible choice between paying the rent or feeding their kids?


One of the biggest roadblocks to more affordable housing is the "Not In My Backyard" (NIMBY) attitude of hostility by local residents toward new housing developments for low-income people.


While our society recoils from blatant discrimination against people of colour, Jews, Muslims and others who have suffered from prejudice, it apparently is still acceptable to discriminate against poor people. We are actively urging Anglicans to resist this mindset. We urge you to do the same.


We also are involved in providing both permanent housing and emergency shelter for thousands of people through non-profit housing providers like LOFT Community Services and Ecuhome, and through our shelters and Out of the Cold programs. And we know our church needs to do more.


Meanwhile, the next time you're at the Eaton Centre, walk through the west exit and pause a moment outside Holy Trinity's simple homeless memorial. Pause, and think. What does it mean to you?