Call For National Disaster Relief for Homelessness [Canada] FWD
Tom Boland (wgcp@earthlink.net)
Sat, 10 Oct 1998 03:00:23 -0400
FWD CC Replies to TDRC's "Cathy Crowe" <crowe@web.net>
Toronto Disaster Relief Committee
c/o 168 Bathurst St.
Toronto, ON
M5V 2R4
September 29, 1998
Dear Friends,
The Toronto Disaster Relief Committee is asking you to endorse our
call to have all levels of government declare homelessness a NATIONAL
DISASTER, which requires immediate, emergency, humanitarian relief.
We are a group made up of housing experts, academics, business people,
health care workers, social workers, anti-poverty activists, and the
faith community. We have worked with homeless people, studied
homelessness, and have watched the homeless crisis worsen daily. We
have bandaged the injuries caused by being homeless and have attended
the funerals of many homeless people.
We have asked ourselves these questions: Why is this crisis not dealt
with like the ice storm in Eastern Canada, or like the flooding in
Manitoba? Why are governments not responding to the hundreds of
homeless people's deaths? Why are they ignoring the threat of diseases
such as tuberculosis, HIV/AIDs, and hepatitis which are related to
people's homelessness? Why is it that common sense doesn't dictate that
this is one of the largest and most serious national disasters that
Canada has ever faced?
Our answer has been to come together and to draw up a call for Disaster
Relief. The most basic human rights of a section of our community are
being violated. We cannot sit idly by and let this misery and death
continue - the time now is to act. We need massive and immediate
government intervention.
We appeal to you to endorse our call for action, join our committee,
and/or to set up your own committee and send out a similar call.
Attached is a form we are asking you to sign. Please send it back to us
as soon as possible.
Sincerely,
Cathy Crowe, on behalf of the Toronto Disaster Relief Committee
Note: Members of the committee are listed at the end of the two page
State of Emergency Declaration
Call For National Disaster Relief for Homelessness
(please print) I (name) ___________________________, on behalf of
(organization if applicable)________________________________endorse
the call made by the Toronto Disaster Relief Committee to have all
levels of government declare homelessness a national disaster and to
respond with immediate short and long term humanitarian relief.
Signed by ______________________________
Address ______________________________
______________________________
______________________________
Phone ______________________________
Fax ______________________________
Email ______________________________
SEND TO: Toronto Disaster Relief Committee c/o Cathy Crowe,
Fax: 416-703-6190 or crowe@web.net or
mail to 168 Bathurst St. Toronto, ON, M5V 2R4
Committee contacts:
Cathy Crowe, 416-703-8482 (117)
Beric German, 416-964-2459
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