THUNDER BAY — Thunder Bay police service has confirmed one individual was found dead in their tent on Thursday.
A second person who had been living in an encampment died in hospital overnight, according to Holly Gauvin, executive director of Elevate NWO.
“Usually with a drop in temperatures, we see more people go to shelters, but now those shelters are filling up," said Gauvin. "There is no place to go. The best we can do is hope to shelter them in place.”
According to Gauvin over 100 people are still living in tents in the city. She said that's more than two times the number of homeless people living in encampments at the same time last year.
With an increasing number of homeless people living in encampments, Gauvin fears “it’s nearly impossible” to ensure everyone will be off the street this winter.
“There was an announcement last this week that there's another 40 beds that come into play, I believe they came into play last week, but that won't be enough.
“And so right now, we're scrambling as best we can to get people as much winter gear as we can with the resources we have.
“But there is no housing. And there's no plan in place for managing that number."
She's concerned that a number of those people are particularly vulnerable. She said 15 of them are "severely medically compromised" and 10 are seniors over the age of 60.
Among the 100 people still living in tents, there are 22 couples, said Gauvin. She says many would rather face the risks staying outdoors than choose to be split up in the shelter system. People with pets face a similar dilemma.
“At this time of year, people will take to family and friends, but then that puts them at risk as well because a lot of times they're not allowed to have guests or visitors for longer than a week or two. So, it becomes increasingly difficult,” Gauvin said.
Elevate NOW is looking into purchase fishing shacks; but the cost is prohibitive, and Gauvin those temporary shelters won’t be enough.
