One year after Luke Landry died outside Moncton city hall, his mother calls for kindness
Mary MacDonald worries not enough has changed in the year since her son was unable to find a shelter bed
One year later, Mary MacDonald says her son's death in a public washroom outside Moncton city hall still haunts her every day.
"The image I get in the morning is him lying in a bathroom dying by himself," she said through tears. "That didn't have to happen."
MacDonald, a mother of three, feels angry her son wasn't able to find a place to sleep the night of Nov. 21. Despite many calls for action, she believes little has changed for people like Luke Landry who are struggling on the streets of Moncton.
"A lot of promises were made, I don't see the evidence of it. I believe there's still a lot of people on the street in Moncton that still won't have a place to go out of the cold and to keep them safe," she said.
The day he died, Landry, 35, was released from provincial jail with nowhere to live and no winter clothes. MacDonald sent her son $100 for a pair of jeans and boots.
That afternoon, he overdosed while at Ensemble Moncton's safe injection site.
Landry was revived by first responders, but executive director Debby Warren said no shelter would take him, and she was turned down when she called the Department of Social Development's emergency line and requested a hotel room.
Landry's death sparked urgent calls for improved resources for homeless people in the city.
A week later, the Department of Social Development sent a "tiger team" to help on the ground, and provincial and municipal officials scrambled to open an emergency shelter.
Landry's death occurred after two months of constant calls for more emergency shelter beds in Moncton.
'Addictions are stronger than anything else'
On Wednesday, the anniversary of her son's death, MacDonald collected hats to give to the homeless on the streets of her community.
"If everybody took five minutes out of their day to say hello, say a prayer, anything is better than just looking away and criticizing."
MacDonald, who lives in Prince George, B.C., said she hopes speaking out about her son's story helps change the mindset many people have about those struggling with addiction and homelessness.
Landry was a father of two girls, a son, uncle and cousin with a large extended family in Cape Breton. He was also a musician and was well known in Moncton, where he had been living for about a decade.
MacDonald said people need to recognize that people struggling with homelessness are someone's family member and need to be treated with kindness. She said little will change until there's a shift in public perception of those on the streets.
"I don't know anybody that wants to be sleeping on the side of the road in the wintertime," she said.
"I believe that some of these people, that their addictions are stronger than anything else, and they can't necessarily fit into some of these shelter places."
Over the past year, MacDonald joined a support group in Prince George for parents who have lost children to opioids. She also got involved with Moms Stop the Harm, a network of Canadian families impacted by substance-use harm and death.
"Not everybody is sympathetic or believes they are worthy of it. That is hard for me to understand," she said.
MacDonald said the justice system needs to better prepare people for their release from provincial jail.
She said more resources are also needed for people struggling with mental health and addiction.
"He was not dressed for the winter," MacDonald said.
"I found out from his autopsy that he actually had pneumonia leaving the jail."
Barriers to help remain
At Ensemble Greater Moncton, Debby Warren said staff still run into barriers finding a safe place for their clients to sleep.
Hundreds of people are living on city streets, many dealing with opioid addiction and mental illness.
Two weeks ago, Warren said, it was a scramble to find a vulnerable person a bed, after several shelters in the city said no. It reminded her of what happened to Landry last November.
"We spend a lot of time making calls and trying to manoeuvre through the system on behalf of the people we serve," she said.
"We have very sick people. And they shouldn't be out exposed to the cold like they are."
New winter shelter offers hope
This winter, the Department of Social Development has partnered with the John Howard Society of Southeastern New Brunswick to open an out-of-the-cold shelter in Moncton.
The drop-in centre at a city-owned community centre on St. George Street will offer a warm space and a way to connect with resources.
Dan Brooks, the non-profit charity's executive director, said the "bridge-to-home hub" offers services to people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. Staff help find available beds at shelters and direct people to other supports.
"We're doing our very best to get out in front of this and provide people a safe environment to stay alive," he said.
The centre is currently open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. each day. Starting Dec. 1, it will be open 24/7 and have space for 60 people to sleep on cots and cafeteria space. Guests will have to check in and check out daily.
Brooks said people who don't have the ability to go to existing shelters will be welcome at the "hub." It will operate as a "damp shelter," meaning people under the influence can get a bed but can't use substances on-site.
"We're going to try and do everything we can to keep people inside," he said.
Warren said she believes there's going to be a big effort to try to accommodate "high-acuity" individuals that no one else will take. But she said the community has a "long way to go," to help that population.
MacDonald said it makes her "very happy" to hear about the new out-of-the-cold shelter, which will take in people other shelters won't.
"We have to start somewhere and trying to keep the most vulnerable safe is the place to start."
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