Bitter Cold is Claiming Homeless People’s Lives in Montreal

Montreal Homeless Man walking in snow

We could argue that homelessness is a natural disaster, sudden and unfortunate, perilous and deadly. In Montreal, winter weather exhibits seasonal temperatures well below freezing. The average January low is a biting -11 degrees Celsius.

Homelessness is claiming lives yet again, as some of the city’s most vulnerable residents are perishing in the frigid temperatures.

Two Deaths Likely Caused by Being Homeless in the Cold, Coroner Claims

Stella Stosik was a beautiful woman inside and out, according to friends and associates. During her stay at La Rue des Femmes, she had opened up about childhood traumas and young dreams of being a ballerina.

Ann-Gaël Whiteman, a coordinator at La Rue des Femmes, a nonprofit that offers shelter and services for homeless women, fondly reflected on the 60-year-old woman with sadness:

Whiteman described Stella as tall and thin, “a beautiful lady” who was “in the process of healing.”

In late January of 2022, Stella Stosik was discovered lying down in the vicinity of Berri-UQAM Metro station after having endured a night of extreme temperatures and unthinkable wind chills. Temperatures in the area had plummeted to -20 degrees celsius when taking wind chills into account.

Stella was found bundled in layers of clothing, but those layers had been fruitless against the piercing cold. It was already too late by the time medics arrived on the scene. Stella was undergoing cardiopulmonary arrest. She died shortly after a concerned bystander placed a 911 call. All of her childhood dreams were cut short. Such is the reality after a taxing 16-year stint of homelessness.

In the wake of this tragedy, it’s important to note that Stella was a far cry from what media outlets negatively refer to as “shelter-resistant.”

On the contrary, Stella frequented many local shelters and was a familiar face amongst peers. She was also not the only homeless person to die recently in the dipping winter temperatures in Montreal.

Ten days before this tragic incident, a 74-year-old homeless man met with a similar fate in Montreal’s Notre-Dame-de-Grâce neighborhood. He was pronounced dead on January 10th, after enduring temperatures of –26 degrees Celsius. His makeshift shelter teetered on an underpass at Saint-Jacques Street and Highway 20. It alone was not enough to protect him from the sweeping cold front.

The coroner is currently investigating both of the cases above. In a somewhat controversial statement, Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante called the January 10th tragedy “unacceptable” but then went on to describe the 74-year-old victim as a man who “refused to go toward existing resources.”

While a seemingly benign statement, this is an accusation. It’s a way of waving the finger of blame in the deceased homeless person’s direction.

Not only is this statement inconsiderate, but sources claim it is also inaccurate. According to social service worker Ann-Gaël Whiteman, many of the shelters listed in the area are unavailable due to staff shortages. Several more are hindered by restrictions related to COVID-19.

Short-Term Solutions are Failing the People of Montreal

Montreal’s emergency shelters and warming centers are suffering under the weight of pandemic-related restrictions. They are dealing with two separate crises- one of weather and the other of public health.

Shelter workers are being forced to make dire decisions. The sad truth is that many more members of the local homeless community could die on the streets in the freezing cold under these abhorrent conditions.

When the most recent cold snap came through, shelter space was quite limited as workers dealt with a different emergency. Two hundred sixteen members of the city’s homeless community had tested positive for COVID in a week.

As this perfect storm where the weather meets public health unfolds, it’s high time we ask another critical question:

How effective are these short-term solutions like shelters and warming centers in actually ending homelessness?

Stories like Stella Stosik’s, where people experiencing homelessness merely bounce from one shelter to the next for 16 years before meeting a disparaging end, are as common as they are heartbreaking. The rotating doorway that is the shelter system rarely opens into permanent housing. Indeed, it all too often opens to something much more sinister: death or despair.

While transitional solutions that exist to bridge the gap between homelessness and housing certainly have their rightful place in the services sector, that place should never be the entire foundation upon which we build.

Contact Your Representatives to Express Your Heartfelt Concern

Consider the harsh reality of what it means to freeze to death while homeless on the streets. Imagine what those final chilling moments must feel like. Which do you presume stung more- the bitter cold of winter stabbing at the heart or the social isolation of homelessness slowly eroding the soul?

If you don’t support housing as a human right, or if you think the crisis is just too complicated to solve, can we at least agree that every human deserves to die with dignity in a warm place surrounded by people who care?

Contact your representatives today. Remind them that in the city of Montreal, your fellow human beings are living, and often dying, on the streets.


Cynthia Griffith

Cynthia Griffith

     

Cynthia Griffith is a freelance writer dedicated to social justice and environmental issues.

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