'A strong woman who never gave up': East Toronto neighbourhood shaken by death of unhoused resident
CTV
People in Toronto’s east end are shaken after a well-known unhoused woman from the community reportedly died over the weekend.
People in Toronto’s east end are shaken after a well-known unhoused woman from the community reportedly died over the weekend.
Rita, or Mary as she was known to many in the area, had been staying for some time in a small encampment in a parking lot on the west side of the Shoppers Drug Mart near Danforth and Coxwell avenues.
A staff member at the nearby Tim Horton’s, which is located within the drug store, told CP24 that she arrived to work around 6:50 a.m. on Saturday and saw the woman being loaded into an ambulance in the parking lot next to the coffee shop. She appeared to be only wearing a top, Meherunnessa Meem told CP24.com on Tuesday evening.
“Because of the cold, I think she died. … It is too much cold,” she said, adding that paramedics were there for about 15 minutes before transporting the woman to the hospital.
“She was a very nice lady. … It’s so sad. We’re shocked.”
Meem said people from the community would come daily to help the lady, who loved double double coffee, coke, and chocolate chip muffins.
Like many in the area, Rosa Alaimo supported the unhoused woman.
