'It's life-threatening': Meet the Londoners trying to stay alive in –19 C

Londoners who continue to live and sleep in a south London park through this week's double-digit, below-zero temperatures say they're staring down death on a nightly basis. 

According to Environment Canada, overnight lows late Monday and into early Tuesday hit –19 C, which felt like –27 C with the wind chill. 

Gayle Moyneur and her boyfriend are just two of the dozens of people sleeping outside in a cluster of tents and shelters spread across an icy and windblown Watson Street Park. The couple have lived together in their small tent since July. Moyneur told CBC News she relies on candles and pots of burning hand sanitizer to keep warm.

"It's life-threatening," said Moyneur. "This little shelter does help. I hope other people can find that."

'Some days it's unbearable' 

A man who asked to only be identified as J.T. lives in a shelter built with bits of scrap lumber. Sections of tarp have been stretched and nailed over the top of the structure to form a roof. 

J.T. said his shelter provides some protection against the cold on milder winter nights. However, when temperatures dip toward –20 C, staying warm becomes almost impossible.   

"It's challenging," he said. "Some of us can't feel our feet. Some days it's unbearable." 

He said while London's fire department has warned him about the dangers of burning anything inside tents, it's a risk he has to take to prevent dying of cold exposure. 

"We're going to do what we have to do to stay warm," he said. "I'm not going to stay out here and freeze to death. It's not so easy, we can't find affordable housing. We're here, and we're not going anywhere and that's the unfortunate thing." 

On Tuesday, a joint letter to London City Council signed by groups such as London Cares, 519 Pursuit and the Canadian Mental Health Association called on city council to find a way to provide more shelter and warming centre spaces. 

The city allows people to use its libraries and community centres to warm up, but those spaces are limited to daytime opening hours. Meanwhile, London's shelter system doesn't have enough beds to meet the nightly demand.

Eric, who declined to give his last name, has been living in Watson Park for three years.

"You've got to collect a lot of wood, so you have it to burn it, and make sure your fire is safe," he said. "I do my best to help people out and prevent them from freezing, get them to a warm spot." 

Mike, who lives in the same tent, said he had an apartment but had to leave it to take care of his mother when she was in the final stages of battling cancer. 

"When she passed, I was sent to the streets," he said.

Mike's request to political leaders at all levels is to find a way to provide housing that people in his situation can afford. 

"Get the rents back to normal," he said. "Like $500 is good, not this $1,200 for a bedroom. That's where we stand. We can't afford it."

At noon Tuesday, a group of three volunteers from Mission Services arrived at the park to hand out hot meals including soup and sandwiches. Moyneur said she and the others living in Watson Park are grateful for the help. 

"We're like a little community," she said. "We're watching after each other, have each other's back. It's what you got to do to survive."

Those who signed the joint letter to city council say they have a "deep concern" for those who live outdoors. 

"Over the past week the temperatures have dropped considerably, and our teams are beyond devastated at the trauma they've been navigating consistently," the letter said.  

Environment Canada's forecast for Tuesday overnight is a low of –23 C, feeling like –32 C with the wind chill.