Windsor doesn't track deaths of people experiencing homelessness. Here's why that matters

The death of a man who was experiencing homelessness in downtown Windsor has shed light on the lack of transparency and publicly available reporting that tracks the deaths of those in the homeless community. 

On Jan. 31, Anatole Rybas, 69, was found dead on the streets of Windsor. Windsor police said officers responded to a call of a person "without vital signs" at around 3:45 p.m. on Ouellette Avenue in between Wyandotte Street and Park Street.

He's one of an unknown number of people experiencing homelessness who have died on the city's streets. 

"The fact that these deaths aren't tracked I think speaks volumes about how we feel about these people, how much value we have for [this group]," said Rybas' nephew Sam Toman.

"We kind of see them as others ... and by not recording their deaths it's almost like they never existed or we want to pretend that they don't exist." 

Homelessness and housing service providers, along with advocates in Windsor-Essex, argue that actively logging people who die on the streets, can increase public awareness, better inform social policies and force the government to take more action. 

This data could be especially useful during a time when homelessness is on the rise amid an opioid crisis and lack of affordable housing. 

When asked whether a tracking system is needed, executive director of Family Services Windsor-Essex Joyce Zuk said if asked that five years ago, she would have said "no." 

"However what I know now is what gets measured, gets done. So as we begin to acquire better data it seems to be the catalyst to get governments to move," Zuk said. 

Ward 3 Coun. Rino Bortolin told CBC News that although there isn't a formal tracking system in the city, local service providers are aware when a situation like Rybas' takes place. 

But when CBC News reached out to the following providers asking if they had data on the number of homeless people who have died in recent years on city streets, they all said they don't keep this data and many said they also don't have access to it: 

During a media briefing, the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit didn't say why it doesn't have access to the data. 

CBC News also reached out to Ontario's Office of the Chief Coroner, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing — all of which didn't have the information. The Ministry of Health and Ministry of Housing suggested contacting the City of Windsor for the information. 

The Coroner's Office said they "don't always know if a person is unhoused or experiencing homelessness," in the deaths they are called to investigate.