Hunger strike calling attention to homelessness begins in London, Ont.

A hunger strike calling attention to preventable deaths of people experiencing homelessness got underway in London, Ont., Tuesday morning with a street-level outreach worker saying he will not eat to draw attention to the crisis. 

Around 200 people gathered outside London's city hall in support of Dan Oudshoorn, an outreach worker for people experiencing homelessness.

He's connected to the newly formed group called The Forgotten 519, which has spearheaded the protest. It's calling on the city to make changes about how it deals with camps and settlements of people living rough and to improve facilities in the downtown for people without shelter.

 

"It's at the point with 167 deaths in three years we felt it was necessary to take a different course of action to prevent these deaths," said Oudshoorn. 

"There are preventable deaths that are happening right now, and there are immediate actions that can be taken to stop those preventable deaths — and so that's why we are taking this action."

He plans to sleep outside city hall and only drink water with electrolytes until organizers' demands have been met by the city. While there is a need for thoughtful long-term solutions, there is also a pressing need that requires immediate steps, he said. 

"Let's raise the rates. Let's get affordable housing, all of those things — but in the 24 years it takes us to get there, how many people are going to die?"

The strike was prompted in part by the death of Jessica Beacham, a woman whose body was found in the Thames River in late July. She is one of the 34 people who have died in London this year, according to advocates with The Forgotten 519. 

"I honestly believe she's probably here with us right now, and she would have loved this," said Carrie Butt, an outreach worker with Ark Aid Street Mission. She knew Beacham when she was living rough on the streets of London while struggling with mental illness and addiction. 

"I believe she would be equally as emotional as I assume many people are here today. It's a very powerful movement going on today." Butt is part of a group spending a few nights outside city hall in support of Oudshoorn, she said. 

Sense of responsibility

Imam Abdul Fattah Twakkal was among the speakers calling for change. 

"There are people in our city that have died with one of the major contributing factors to their death: homelessness," he said.

"We're here today because we feel a sense of responsibility, those of us who are standing here in the streets. But at the same time, we're here to remind those in the building behind us that they also have a sense of responsibility." 

On Tuesday morning, the City of London issued a statement saying it wanted to meet with advocates for two working sessions led by an outside facilitator starting this week.

"The focus for the first session will be on creating space to broadly share and listen to the experiences of those providing service in the community that has been gathered by #TheForgotten519 and discuss the ideas for immediate action," the statement said.

Two previous meetings between city officials and the advocates have led nowhere. 

The demands of the Forgotten 519 include: 

• An immediate end to the removal of homeless encampments in city parks, along the Thames Valley Parkway and in empty parking lots and derelict properties.
• More support from city relief workers at homeless encampments
• The creation of two indoor spaces — one downtown and the other in the east-end — in order to provide 24/7 support for unsheltered people. 

They say that the city has chosen to take no actionable steps. 

Outside of city hall, downtown resident Celia Coles helped erect more than 160 wooden crosses into the ground, representing individuals who have passed away while living in homelessness since 2020 in London. 

"It's really heart heavy," said Coles. "These are premature and preventable deaths. I've made friendships with people who are experiencing homelessness. They're not bad people, and they deserve dignity and they deserve respect."

Letters of support have been rolling in from local organizations in London such as Anova, Unity Project and London Cares — to national voices such as the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition and Leilani Farha, the former UN special rapporteur on adequate housing.

The momentum has given Oudshoorn a sense of resolve. 

"Maybe something will be finally be done, and maybe we're not struggling for nothing, and maybe changes will be made," he said. 

"I want my children to grow up in a city where we care enough about one another that we don't let our neighbours die on the street."