Hello HPAP Members,
Please see below for information regarding the upcoming “This Used to Be My Home” photography exhibit running June 18-20 at the Toronto Homeless Memorial.
This promises to be a very powerful exhibit and is well worth checking out if you’re available early this week.
About the exhibit:
This Used To Be My Home is a photography storytelling project led by people who have experienced homelessness in Ontario. The nine photographs showcase peoples’ homes. A park bench. A garage. An emergency shelter. Told from the lens of those with lived experience of homelessness, each photo tells a story of resilience in the face of hardship. This exhibit is a sharing of collective experiences produced by the failings of the very systems that were meant to keep us safe and housed with dignity. Each person also shares their solution to ending homelessness – as those closest to the problem are closest to the solution.
For the first time in more than a decade, the Coroner’s Office held an inquest into the death of a Toronto man experiencing homelessness. Grant Faulkner was experiencing homelessness when he tragically died in a fire during the winter of 2015 in a makeshift shelter in Scarborough. An inquest was called the week of June 11, 2018, to investigate the circumstances surrounding his death. A coalition of groups concerned about homelessness and the lack of affordable housing mobilized to call for justice for those experiencing homelessness. This Used To Be My Home will remind you that every person experiencing homelessness has a story of resilience to tell and a comprehensive solution to share.
We invite you to visit the Toronto Homeless Memorial to view the photo exhibit. All welcome!
Location: outside Church of the Holy Trinity, 19 Trinity Square (behind the Eaton Centre) – the exhibit will be inside the church in the event of rain
Hours: Monday, June 18th from 12pm-5pm / Tuesday, June 19th – Wednesday, June 20th from 9am-5pm
Media stories about the inquest:
CBC News – Inquest begins into ‘agonizing death’ of homeless man in shack fire
Toronto Star – Inquest to focus public attention on homeless men who died after years on Toronto streets
Toronto Star – For first time in more than a decade, coroner holds inquest into Toronto homeless death
CBC News – Before he died homeless in a burnt-out shack, Grant Faulkner lived an ordinary life
Toronto Star – Homeless man applied for social housing but died before he completed the process, inquest hears
Health Providers Against Poverty 