‘This will be lifesaving,’ homeless advocate pleased with solutions that ended a four-day hunger strike
CTV
A four-day hunger strike intended to draw attention to the growing need to help the homeless population in London, Ont. has come to an end.
A four-day hunger strike intended to draw attention to the growing need to help the homeless population in London, Ont. has come to an end.
On Friday evening, the Forgotten 519 Coalition, local agencies, and the city came to a consensus after several hour-long meetings.
Dan Oudshoorn, an outreach worker was camped outside London city hall since Tuesday morning when he began his hunger strike, in support of the Forgotten 519 coalition.
“I appreciate all that hard work that people did to produce the outcome we came to,” Oudshoorn said.
“A lot of folks going by would say I was thinking about you in the rain last night and in the heat. I was there for four days but so many other folks are there day after day and night after night so it’s a sobering reminder as to what other folks are going to.”
The parties agreed on taking immediate action to address the current issues that homeless people are facing. The city agreed to provide water and “food or acute needs” which will be funded by the city. They also plan to install shower stations for people living in encampments.
The locations of those have yet to be determined.
