Parents of woman who died after tent fire in London, Ont., urge quick change as they 'help her community heal'

The parents of a woman who died after her tent went up in flames on a London, Ont., sidewalk earlier this month are demanding that politicians do more to protect vulnerable people.

"When is it going to be enough?" said Stephanie Clark, who appeared on Friday's edition of London Morning with her husband Sean. "When are we going to do more? When are we going to do better?"

This week, the Brantford couple arrived in London, where their daughter Olivia, 31, had been living for the last five years, often sleeping rough or in shelters.

The Clarks wanted to meet with the people who were close to her.

"We wanted to come here to help her community heal," said Sean.

Olivia had been sleeping under a tarp with some friends on the sidewalk in front of the Ark Aid Mission when a fire they were burning for warmth got out of hand. Olivia suffered burns to nearly half of her body. She was taken to Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, but died last weekend.

"We know that that night it dipped below zero and that it is why there was a fire," said Stephanie.

"That's why they were burning hand sanitizer."

Crash beds had just closed

Days earlier, the Ark Aid Mission had been forced to close 70 crash beds because a portion of its funding — tied to sheltering people during the winter — had run out.

"If not for that arbitrary date, my daughter may have been in a bed and she may not have come to the end that she did," said Stephanie. 

This should not have been the last chapter for her. It can never happen again.- Stephanie Clark, mother of Olivia, who died after tent fire

"I find it mind boggling that it would be inhumane not to provide them a bed through the winter months, but they're not human enough to require a bed for the full year."

The City of London is proceeding with a plan, funded in part by a $25-million anonymous donation, to build what it calls a "people-centred, housing-centric" approach that takes into account input from hundreds of people from dozens of organizations, including the police, poverty activists, homeless relief agencies and the people living on the streets themselves. 

"We have experienced far too many preventable and unnecessary deaths in this community for one reason or another as it relates to people experiencing homelessness, and my heart breaks for the parents, to have a child perish in this way," said Kevin Dickins, the deputy city manager in charge of social health and development. 

"We share the sense of loss and frustration that Olivia's friends are feeling and that community organizations are feeling. This type of tragedy is exactly what is motivating the community to try something different, because what we've been doing has not been working." 

We need to recognize that encampments exist and we need to best support people living in them so we don't have other cases like Olivia's.- Kevin Dickins, City of London

Within the first year, the plan looks to spend $2.8 million to build 100 units of housing along with five 24/7 homeless hubs, part of a wider long-term plan that hopes to provide some 600 housing units and 12 to 15 hubs around the city. 

"The 600 spaces sounds like a wonderful start," said Sean. But it's wholly inadequate, he added.

Recent estimates from the city peg the number of unhoused people at close to 1,900. Advocates are also meeting this week and next week to develop an encampment strategy, Dickins said. 

"The encampment situation is a significant challenge on all sides, whether you're living in them, supporting them or are nuisanced by them. We need to recognize that encampments exist and we need to best support people living in them so we don't have other cases like Olivia's." 

As more people sleep rough — not just in London, but in towns and cities across Canada — the number of devastating fires in encampments is on the rise. 

"I"m all for planning, but you can't simply turn a blind eye to what's happening in front of you while you try to come up with that plan," said Sean.

"Stop trying to boil the ocean here. Let's get some things in place that we can do tonight or we can do next week to help these people and this situation."

Emotional visit to site of fire

Sean said, "Seeing the place of the fire was really difficult," but it helped to hear from people who loved Olivia and told stories of how she was an advocate for others who didn't have a voice."

"There were a lot of tears and there were a lot of hugs," said Stephanie. "I think we found some healing and I hope we gave some healing by meeting these people and by showing them that we actually care."

The couple hopes Olivia's death will spur change that moves more quickly than the City of London's current homelessness plan.

"She was a bright shining star and no matter what anybody says or what anybody thinks, this should not have been her end," said Stephanie. "This should not have been the last chapter for her.

"It can never happen again."

LISTEN | Remembering Olivia: