Homeless Memorial Page #3

Updated; May 12/2008

Here we go again, expanding the Homeless Memorial Page one more time. As the list of names keep growing, so does this site. The Toronto Disaster Relief Committee (TDRC) just commemorated 500 names on the list. How many times am I going to have to expand this site? How long are we going to allow the list to grow? This has to stop! On this site, I will endevour to give my visitors suggestions of actions and things that they can do to try to stem this tide of homelessness and despair. As well, I will continue to list the names as TDRC gives them to me. Stay tuned for TDRC updates and meeting notices.

This list has expanded again. We must act to end homelessness! How many times can I expand this list?

Ray Benoit-Sept 7/2005 John Doe-Sept 8/2005 Boyd Scott-Sept 9/2005 John Doe-Sept 13/2005 Kenny Martin-Sept 13/14/2005 John Doe-Sept 23/2005 John Doe-Oct 4/2005 John Doe-Oct 4/2005 John Doe-Oct 16/2005 John Doe-Oct 19/2005 John Doe-Oct 20/2005 John Doe-Oct 23/2005 RH Pops-Oct 23/2005 John Doe-Nov 12/2005 John Doe-Nov 13/2005 John Doe-Nov 16/2005 Jackie Escott-Nov 26/2005 John Doe-Dec 3/2005 John Doe-Dec 8/2005 John Grenville-Dec 12/2005 John Doe-Dec 27/2005 Alexander Enever-December/2005 John Doe-Jan 14/2006 John Doe-Jan 14/2006 John Doe-Feb 2/2006 John Doe-Feb 6/2006 Daniel Johnson-Feb 11/2006 John Doe-Feb 16/2006 Ken Fink-Feb 16/2006 Norman Desroches-Feb 18/2006 John Doe-March 1/2006 John Doe-March 2/2006 Harunoba �Harry� Kobayashi-Mar 11/2006 John Doe-March 19/2006 John Doe-March 27/2006 John Doe-April 2/2006 John Doe-April 15/2006 John Doe-April 17/2006 John Doe-April 21/2006 Jane Doe-April 23/2006 John Doe-May 1/2006 John Doe-May 13/2006 Diane Marshall-May 24/2006 Donald Steel-May 30/2006 Pinq Kuen Lee aka Ester Lee-May 31/2006 John Doe-May 31/2006 John Doe-June 1/2006 John Doe-June 20/2006 David Rees-June 22/2006 Jane Doe-June 30/2006 John Doe-July 11/2006 Kellet"Gilette" Wingenow-late July/2006 John Doe-August 16/2006 Howard Enosse-mid August/2006 Jack Hebert-August 17/2006 John Doe-August 21/2006 John Doe-August 23/2006 Michael French-August/2006 John Doe-September 9/2006 Thomas Cozens-September 15/2006 john Doe-September 16/2006 Charles Penasse-September 16/2006 John Doe-October 1/2006 John Doe-October/2006 John Doe-October20/2006 Leo Richards-November 3/2006 Vicky Galati-November 10/2006 John Doe-November 13/2006 John doe-November 19/2006 John Doe-November 20/2006 John Doe-November 23/2006 John Doe-November 30/2006 Paul Bennet-early January/2007

TDRC's Meetings and Actions; Please join us

September 24, 2007

Dear Friends,

As you know, the Toronto Disaster Relief Committee (TDRC) is in serious financial straits. Our office staff have been laid off as of October 11th, 2007. We are faced with operating only as a volunteer organization. We are reviewing our options for the future. We need your help to move forward.

Next year should be our 10th anniversary. In May 1998, a dozen people came together in a room at Sherbourne and Dundas and TDRC was born. Over the subsequent months, we wrote the State of Emergency Declaration and on October 8, 1998, at the Church of the Holy Trinity in downtown Toronto we declared homelessness a national disaster. This action and our call for both a national housing program and emergency disaster relief funds for cities put the homelessness crisis on the political and public agenda.

After more than nine years of struggle on the homelessness front, TDRC is facing a new challenge - whether we can secure enough funding to continue to our tenth anniversary. For nine years we have survived on individual, group and labour donations, plus funding for special project work. This has allowed us to advance the national campaign for the 1% Solution and to function as the secretariat for the National Housing and Homelessness Network (NHHN). We do not receive any government money, which allows us to retain our strong and independent voice.

Homelessness continues to grow in Toronto and across Canada . There is no question that circumstances today, compared with 1998, when hundreds of organizations joined us to declare homelessness a national disaster, are more catastrophic.

Homelessness is our Katrina, but it wasn't caused by the weather.

We will soon face winter work that includes shelter closures, extreme weather, health emergencies and high mortality rates. Conditions on the street are horrific for homeless people, with increased shelter bed closures, criminalization of homelessness and panhandling and deepening poverty.

Please help us make it to our tenth anniversary by giving a generous donation to Toronto Disaster Relief Committee. If you need a receipt for income tax purposes, make the cheque payable to "Phoenix Community Works Foundation" and write on the bottom of your cheque that the donation is for the "Homeless Project". If the tax receipt is not of concern, please make the cheque payable to Toronto Disaster Relief Committee. Please send your cheque to Toronto Disaster Relief Committee, 6 Trinity Square, Toronto , ON M5G 1B1.

In solidarity,

Cathy Crowe, Street Nurse

Co-founder Toronto Disaster Relief Committee

1%1%1%1%1%1%1%1% www.tdrc.net 1%1%1%1%1%1%1%

Our next meeting is May 15/2008 at Central Neighbourhood House which is located at 349 Ontario Street, near Dundas Street. The meeting starts at 6:30 PM.

TDRC holds monthly vigils to honour the homeless who have died on the cold streets of Toronto. The next one will be on May 13/2008 at 12:00 PM at Holy Trinity Church, behind the Eaton's Centre. There will be a short service followed by a light lunch. All are invited.

To celebrate the lives of those who have lived on the streets of Toronto and died as a direct result of homelessness.

There are currently over 500 names on the memorial. This number is only a fraction of the number of people who have actually died as it is estimated that there are on average two homeless deaths each week in Toronto.

We are also working to make sure that our list is as up-to-date as possible and that as many people as possible are both listed and named. If you have a name to report, please contact the office at 416-599-8372.

This list contains more than 500 names of men, women and children who have lived and died on the streets of Toronto as a direct result of homelessness. Stop, pause, and remember all of these people and the many more who continue to struggle as they live on our streets. Then call your local city councillor, the Mayor, and your MPP and your MP. Help solve the homelessness disaster.

options