Friends, agencies mourn death of London homeless man

There's a green dumpster and a brown heating vent just outside the back of St. Paul's Cathedral on Richmond Street near Queens Avenue. 

Next to the heat vent, a couple of pieces of cardboard are spread out. On top them, a Tim Hortons cup, a lighter and a needle. 

It's where one Londoner spent his last night and early morning before being pronounced dead Thursday. 

"That's where he sleeps. There's a heat vent that's always on, and homeless people, we know where the warm spots are, to sleep and such. No wind, a bit of warmth," said Andrew Scolland, who knew the man who died. 

"He would help you out any chance he got. He'd give me the shirt off my back, and he did a couple times, even though he barely knew me." 

Those who knew the man who died and those who work with street-involved Londoners are coming to terms with another death in their community. 

"Our clients, when they see the staff in tears over a loss, when they experience the staff acknowledging them, acknowledging the loss of someone they both knew, sharing stories, it cements the fact that through all of this, they're still a human being, whatever experiences they might have," said Sonja Burke, the director of Counterpoint needle exchange at Regional HIV/Aids Connection. 

'It's a family member'

Burke can't confirm if the man who died was a client at the Consumption and Treatment Services supervised drug consumption site because those who use the services are given confidentiality. 

"It's a pretty sad, difficult time because we know we've lost someone," she said. 

She said whenever there's a death, it's difficult. 

"When we have confirmation of someone passing, we stop our services and we do a moment of silence. These are human beings," she said. "We work from a place of compassion and kindness. When a person passes away, it's a family member." 

Police say they were called to the parking lot of St. Paul's Cathedral at about 7 a.m. Thursday. Paramedics say they tried to revive the man, but were unsuccessful. 

The coroner is investigating the cause of death, with assistance from London police, a spokesperson said. 

Scolland said the man who died is in his late 30s.