Those of us without housing should have the same rights of remembrance as the rest of us. However, many do not have the resources to bring about that wish. This website provides a digital space that allows friends, family, service providers, outreach workers and those of us to remember those who have died.
The Toronto Homeless Memorial Network is a collaborative group, working with many people in the community. The homeless memorial’s website is an extension of the community who physically gathers once per month. We meet at the Church of the Holy Trinity, every second Tuesday of the month at noon.
We are also here to state that people dying while homeless is not okay and we need to work diligently together to prevent this ongoing crisis. In the meantime, we will endeavour to offer more dignity and struggle for more justice for those who have passed away while homeless. Thank you for visiting
How we define (A) Homeless Death
If someone dies while homeless they will be included in the Online Homeless Memorial, regardless of the reasons for their death. If someone has been homeless in the recent past and their death is associated with their homelessness, they will also be included.
The Online Homeless Memorial includes people who died while they were:
- on the street
- staying in a shelter (all types including both emergency and temporary shelters such as Out of the Cold or overnight 24 hour drop-ins or warming/cooling centres
- in custody (i.e. confined to jail) with no fixed address in the community
- in hospital including general, psychiatric, and long-term care or palliative care/hospice (with no fixed address in the community)
- transitory and short-term accommodations (i.e. couch-surfing, staying with friends, hotel, or motel, but otherwise no fixed address)
- living in unsafe and/or inadequate accommodation (i.e. squats, outdoor shelters)
- on their home reserve (for Indigenous people) if they went there with the knowledge they were ill
We know that homelessness and the lack of affordable housing itself is the cause of death for many people who are homeless. People who have been dehoused also die much younger than the general housed population. Homeless deaths are a crisis and the issue needs addressing. Here are some ways. We know that people care about these issues and want to be a part of changing the political response. Here are some ways in which some of us have found useful to help our communities and to prevent homeless deaths
LATEST NEWS
April.7, 2023 – Toronto Halts Monthly Reporting on Number of Deaths in it’s Shelter System
March.17, 2023 – In Toronto, More Than Three Homeless People Died on Average Every Week Last Year, New Data Shows
February.2, 2023 – ‘It Doesn’t Have To Be This Way’ Shelter Deaths in Toronto Top 100 For Second Consecutive Year
November.12, 2022 – Nobody Knows How Many Homeless Deaths Occur in Canada Each Year
October.10th, 2022 – As Winter Nears; A Homelessness Crisis Pushed Out of Sight is Only Getting Worse
August.4th, 2022 – New City Data Shows 40 People a Night on Average Turned Away From Toronto Homeless Shelters
April.9th, 2022 – More Than 200 Unhoused People Died in Toronto Last Year, City Data Shows
March.2nd, 2022 – Man Found Frozen to Death at Toronto Bus Stop in January
February.27th, 2022 – Op-ed: Toronto is Playing with Fire on Park Encampments
February.16th, 2022 – ‘Our Hearts are Broken’: Vigil Outside Toronto City Hall Mourns Unhoused People Who Died in 2021
February.9th, 2022 – Calls For Immediate Humanitarian Aid Emerge as Unhoused People in Toronto Die From Extreme Cold
December.30th, 2021 – More Than 100 Unhoused People Died in Toronto This Year. Some Say the Shelter System is ‘Crumbling Quickly’
December.15th, 2021 – Thirty-Four People Added to Toronto Homeless Memorial: A Call to Action
December.14th, 2021 – ‘Unconscionable Injustice: Unprecedented Number of Names Added to Toronto Homeless Memorial in December
December.14th, 2021 – As Overdoses Mount in Shelters, Toronto Homeless Memorial Hits a Dark New Milestone
September.21, 2021 – Dedicated Toronto Anti-Poverty Activist Graeme Bacque was ‘At The Heart of Many Struggles’
September.5, 2021 – For Don Weitz, Resistance Mattered; Prominent Activist Dies at 90
June.21, 2021 – Seeking Sanctuary
December.8, 2020 – Ten More Lives Lost Remembered at Monthly Toronto Homeless Memorial
September.24th, 2020 – Toronto Homeless Death Stats Among ‘Routine’ Reports Not Being Updated Due to Covid-19
June.24th, 2020 ‘Somebody Got Left Behind’:The Story Behind a Quiet Death in a Toronto Homeless Camp
May.11th, 2020 – Man at Dixon Hall Becomes First Death in Toronto’s Homeless Shelter System
March.9th, 2020 – Toronto’s Homeless Deserve a COVID-19 Plan
December.10th, 2019 – Homeless Memorial Records 995th Name as City Committee Debates New Housing Action Plan
November.9th, 2019 – Kevin Dickman Died a Broken Man, Homeless and Alone in a City Grappling with a Housing Crisis
August.8th, 2019 – Man, 57, Charged in Stabbing Death at West-End Church
June.10, 2019 – Man arrested in fatal stabbing of James Andrew Smith, 54, on Yonge St. Saturday
June.5, 2019 – Leon (Pops) Alward Fought to Draw Attention to the Opioid Crisis. His Death from Overdose has Left the Harm Reduction Community Reeling
May.14, 2019 – Twelve Names Added to Toronto Homeless Memorial
March.9, 2019 – Palliative Care Team Helps the Homeless die ‘with dignity,’ a Healing Circle Helps Them Grieve
January.18, 2019 – Police Identify Woman Struck and Killed by a Garbage Truck in Downtown Toronto
January.8, 2019 – Woman who Died Trapped in Toronto Donation Bin Lived Tough Life, Friends Say
November.26, 2018 – Sister of Man who Died in Toronto Alley Hopes Inquest will ‘Shine a Light’ on How Homeless Addicts Are Underserved
October.11, 2018 – Clark Sissons remembered as hard-working, respectful man
August.2, 2018 – ‘I May End Up Homeless Again’: Six Ontarians Talk About Their Life Before, After And, Once Again, Without Basic Income
June.11, 2018 – For First Time in More Than A Decade, Coroner Holds Inquest Into Toronto Homeless Death
April.12, 2018 – 100 Homeless People Died in Toronto Last Year, Report Says