Meeting scheduled between homeless advocates, city hall after hunger strike ultimatum issued

A meeting between a grassroots movement of Londoners and city hall is planned after the organization announced it was planning a hunger strike in response to what it calls a “war on the impoverished."

Known as The Forgotten 519, the organization helps people experiencing homelessness, and is a coalition of Londoners comprised of physicians, frontline workers, outreach workers, advocates, and organizations which include the Ontario Network of People Who Use Drugs (ONPUD) and SafeSpace London.

The organization says Londoners experiencing homelessness are “dying premature and preventable deaths at an ever-increasing rate” and that “inadequate resources” are being dedicated by the city to the emergency.

On Monday, the organization issued a list of three demands towards the City of London:

• Immediate cessation of any removal of encampments, tents, campsites, or squats in city parks, along the Thames Valley Parkway, and in empty city lots, or lots that have been left to fall into disrepair by the property owners
• Immediate transition of the City of London’s Coordinated Informed Response (CIR) Team from a displacement model, to a team that offers meaningful support (based on the self-identified needs of the campers) to campers at their campsites
• Immediate creation of two indoor spaces (one in the core, one in the east end) that provide 24/7 support to people who are deprived of housing and shelter, or who simply need a safe place to be

In their press release, The Forgotten 519 say the City of London has one week to agree to their list of demands. If no action is taken, one of their members will begin a hunger strike at 9 a.m. on Aug. 2. outside of city hall.

Kevin Dickins, deputy city manager of social and health development told CTV News London that he has contacted The Forgotten 519 and is arranging to meet later this week.

“I don’t think we have a silver bullet, a one size fits all here. It’s going to take a lot of back and forth,” he says. “I don’t think we can ever move fast enough and that’s the piece we need to sit down and be talking about.”

According to the press release, 34 homeless people have died so far in 2022.

Last week, the body of a woman was discovered in the Thames River, and on Friday, the body of another woman was discovered in a field in south London.

Police say in both incidences, the deaths are not considered suspicious in nature, but police have not released the identities of the two individuals.

Dr. Andrea Sereda, a physician who serves people deprived of housing, is also a member of The Forgotten 519 and says tents are not a solution, but displacing people living in encampments can do more harm.

“Every time people move their support staff lose track of their location, treatment plans are interrupted,” she explains.

Jenna Rose Sands of The Forgotten 519 and a community activist for 20 years says she believes the extent of the immediate crisis must be recognized by decision makers at city hall.

“The city needs to acknowledge that we are a city that is in crisis and we are failing to support and assist our most vulnerable,” she says.

According to the release, if the hunger strike goes ahead as planned, it will escalate until demands are met, or a reasonable alternative solution has been agreed upon.

The Forgotten 519 also cites the higher than normal exodus of frontline workers leaving the industry due to grief and trauma.

“We are drowning. The agencies are drowning,” warns Sands. “We have no crash beds. There was no transitional funding coming out of COVID.”

Sereda believes issuing city hall an ultimatum is the only option left.

“We’re at the point of making ultimatums because if we don’t make ultimatums more people die,” says Sereda. “We are the people who see the faces of those who die.”

— With files from CTV News London’s Daryl Newcombe