>Media advisory            May 3, 2000
>
>Dying for a home:
>Homeless advocates bring
>charred items to Queen's Park
>Media Studio, Legislative Building,
>Queen's Park * Thursday, May 4 * 10 a.m.
>
>In mid-March, 20-year-old Jennifer Caldwell died violently when a fire
>roared through her makeshift shelter in the Don Valley near downtown
>Toronto. Hers is among 21 confirmed deaths among homeless people in downtown
>Toronto in recent weeks.
>
>"We are bringing part of her burned sleeping bag and other items to Queen's
>Park to show just how deadly the province-wide Homelessness Disaster really
>is," says Bob Rose of the Parkdale Activity and Recreation Centre (PARC),
>who is also a member of the Toronto Disaster Relief Committee (TDRC). TDRC
>will bring the charred items to the Media Studio in the Legislative Building
>at Queen's Park at 10 a.m. on Thursday,  May 4th.
>
>"In his latest budget, Finance Minister Ernie Eves chose to deliver billions
>in tax cuts mostly to rich people, while the poor and homeless continue to
>die on the streets of Ontario," says Kira Heineck, Co-ordinator of TDRC. "He
>promises a 'better future' for Ontarians, but without affordable housing, a
>growing number of homeless people will see nothing but misery and death."
>
>Homelessness is on the rise, not just in Toronto, but also in Barrie,
>Hamilton, Kitchener-Waterloo, Peterborough, Ottawa, London, Oakville and
>other communities. Even North Bay, the riding of Premier Mike Harris, and
>Brampton, the riding of Tony Clement, Ontario's Minister of Municipal
>Affairs and Housing, have seen a huge increase in homelessness in recent
>years.
>
>


Housing Now!

Cathy Crowe, RN
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416-703-8482 (117)
416-703-6190 (fax)