Hunger strike calling attention to homelessness begins in London, Ont.

A hunger strike calling attention to preventable deaths of people experiencing homelessness got underway in London, Ont., Tuesday morning with a street-level outreach worker saying he will not eat to draw attention to the crisis. 

More than one hundred community members gathered outside London City Hall in support of Dan Oudshoorn, an outreach worker with Sanctuary London.

He's connected to the newly formed group called The Forgotten 519 which has spearheaded the protest. It's calling on the city to make changes about how it deals with camps and settlements, and to improve facilities in the downtown for people without shelter.

The strike was prompted in part by the death of Jessica Beacham, a woman whose body was found in the Thames River in late July. She is one of the 34 people who have died in London this year, according to advocates with The Forgotten 519. 

"I honestly believe she's probably here with us right now, and she would have loved this," said Carrie Butt, an outreach worker with Ark Aid Street Mission. She knew Beacham when she was living rough on the streets of London while struggling with mental illness and addiction. 

"I believe she would be equally as emotional as I assume many people are here today. It's a very powerful movement going on today." 

On Tuesday morning, the City of London issued a statement saying it wanted to meet with advocates for two working sessions lead by an outside faciliator starting this week.

"The focus for the first session will be on creating space to broadly share and listen to the experiences of those providing service in the community that has been gathered by #TheForgotten519 and discuss the ideas for immediate action," the statement said.

The demands of the Forgotten 519 include: 

They say that the city has chosen to take no actionable steps, despite having met at least twice with officials to discuss the issue. 

Across the street from city hall, downtown resident Celia Coles hammered 166 wooden crosses into the ground, representing individuals who have passed away while living in homelessness since 2020 in London. 

"It's really heart heavy," said Coles. "These are premature and preventable deaths. I've made friendships with people who are experiencing homelessness. They're not bad people, and they deserve dignity and they deserve respect."