Family and friends mourn a young mother who died while living on London's streets

When Debbie Prouse last spoke to her daughter, Meghan, she had no idea that a few days later London police would show up to her door to tell her that Meghan died after struggling on the city's streets.

Meghan Prouse, 28, leaves behind three young children: an eight-year-old daughter, and a six-year-old and a two-year-old son. She lived a life filled with many challenges, but she was hopeful to get her life back on track by living a sober life of recovery and regain the custody of her toddler son, Debbie told CBC News. She had recently found a place to live. 

"She was a happy-go-lucky girl and if anyone ever needed help, she was there for them," Debbie said. "She left behind a beautiful baby boy." 

Prouse's former outreach worker, who eventually became her close friend, described her as a sweet girl who was determined to overcome the numerous hurdles she had both physically and socially.

"Every death sucks but when you have a personal relationship with someone and they're just gone, it's brutal," said Carrie Butt, who met Prouse when she used to work as a frontline outreach worker. 

"As much as she said that she couldn't do something, she'd come back the next day swinging and get it done." 

Prouse died on Nov. 29 at University Hospital. And within that same week, so did another woman who was experiencing homelessness. Advocates who knew the two women, say this year's death toll of the city's unhoused population has risen to 62. 

CBC News was not able to verify the identity of the second woman before publication. 

These are 62 very valuable individuals who most likely had preventable deaths, said Sarah Campbell of the Ark Aid Street Mission, who knew Prouse through her organization.

"When a death occurs, it's someone's family member, friend, or someone they considered as part of their everyday life and so those impacts are very deep," she said.

"People are feeling these losses increasingly heavily because it's compounded by so many previous losses, and we're in a holiday time of year where we want to be celebrating, but we can't help but feel the weight of these losses."

Last month, the city unveiled its winter homelessness response plan and while Campbell believes this will prevent more homeless deaths, she hopes long-term solutions can be found now that multiple sectors from the city have come together.  

'She was so full of life'

Prouse struggled with mental illnesses such as anxiety, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), along with seizures, which according to Butt, were triggered by emotional distress. Challenges in finding housing and counselling services led to her using drugs to cope.

Prouse had a difficult relationship with her family, and as a result of her addiction, Debbie had custody of Prouse's son. 

"[Our relationship] was very rocky, but in the long run we started to get closer because she was starting to get the help she needed," she said. 

Butt couldn't believe her eyes when she read about Prouse's death on a social media post. That news felt like getting hit by a truck, she said.

"She honestly wasn't even on my radar as someone that would be gone just because she was so young and so full of life. She had so many goals and so much passionate to complete them," Butt added. 

Debbie wants her daughter to be remembered as a kind soul who was working hard to get better, and hoped to someday help other struggling with addiction and mental illness. 

A memorial will be held on Dec. 23 at First Baptist Church to commemorate the lives of vulnerable Londoners who died this year. Community members, frontline workers, and family members experiencing impacts of homelessness will come together to mourn the losses.