Toronto Star

Overdose death highlights gaps in city services

Man, 28, died after being told downtown drop-in centre had no space for him to sleep

- JENNIFER PAGLIARO AND EMILY MATHIEU STAFF REPORTERS

The fatal overdose of a 28-year-old man, who left a downtown drop-in centre he frequented after being told there was no room for him to sleep, has left his friends and community reeling and searching for answers.

The man, whom the Star is not identifyin­g at this time without his family’s permission, often stayed at the St. Felix Centre, a neighbourh­ood hub on Augusta Ave. where men and women can shower, enjoy meals, receive counsellin­g and use computers.

In the winter, St. Felix also acts as a 24-7 drop-in centre. Though the 34 sleeping mats and16 additional spaces were full Wednesday night, staff welcomed the man, provided him with two bowls of soup and told him about a temporary warming centre where he should have been able to find a space to sleep.

But shortly after he left St. Felix, about 20 minutes after he was last seen by his friends, he was found without vital signs in the washroom of a KFC restaurant less than a block away, at Queen St. W.

A worker from St. Felix, who happened to be on a break, found him. Emergency services were called at 9:40 p.m., but he died in the hospital.

“Our tremendous front-line staff allowed him access to the dining hall where he had food, but was told they didn’t have space for him,” said local Councillor Joe Cressy, who told the Star about the circumstan­ces leading to the man’s death and how he was found.

“I think this is a painful, real example of a real life and a real person who used our system and didn’t get the full level of support that they needed because the resources weren’t there,” he said.

St. Felix staff would not comment on the situation.

Police reported Thursday that the heroin the young man had con- sumed was believed to be laced with the more powerful drug fentanyl, which has been connected to a surge of deaths of intravenou­s drug users.

A spokespers­on from the mayor’s office described the death as a “tragic circumstan­ce,” adding that Mayor John Tory has been “very vocal about the dangers of fentanyl” and is working to reduce the impact of the deadly drug. “City staff are investigat­ing and we will be asking for a full report once all the facts are known,” the spokespers­on said.

On Friday, two men stood in a doorway at St. Felix and shared a few thoughts about a young man they described as a quiet and decent person whose death sent shock waves through their community. They declined to give their names.

“He kept to himself a lot, but at the same time he would call one or two individual­s over for a conversati­on . . . he reached out to some people,” one man told the Star.

The other, who knew the young man well, said he saw him inside the drop-in just 20 minutes before the fatal overdose. He was outside the restaurant when the ambulance took his friend away. The reaction back at St. Felix, he said, was shock.

The night the young man died, he was given informatio­n about a tem- porary warming facility at St. Lawrence Community Recreation Centre, near Sherbourne St. and the Esplanade, but declined the referral, city staff said. People are invited in from 9 p.m. to 9 a.m. and can sleep on mats, or quietly pass the time.

That same evening, city council was hashing out the final points of a budget that included cuts to front-line shelter workers, or a decision not to replace 10 people once they resign or retire. Those positions include staff providing medical care and helping people find housing.

Community leaders and advocates had decried the lack of shelter beds and emergency spaces, calling any potential cuts to services a matter of life and death. Cressy’s motion to restore the positions was defeated 19-25.

A cheat sheet, which a source confirmed was distribute­d by the mayor’s office telling allied councillor­s how to vote on various budget issues, shows the mayor lobbied councillor­s to support the cuts.

The mayor’s spokespers­on, in response, said the 2017 budget included money for new shelter beds and added that the city has extended the hours of its cold-weather drop-ins and has funded additional hotel beds to get people off the streets.

 ?? RICHARD LAUTENS/TORONTO STAR FILE PHOTO ?? Councillor Joe Cressy says the death of a man who frequented a downtown drop-in is a “painful” example of someone who didn’t receive full support.
RICHARD LAUTENS/TORONTO STAR FILE PHOTO Councillor Joe Cressy says the death of a man who frequented a downtown drop-in is a “painful” example of someone who didn’t receive full support.

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