January 12, 2019
The Globe and Mail
Jino Distasio
Dealing with deadly donation bins only scratches poverty’s surface
Being homeless should not be an early death sentence, yet all too often it is.
Canadians were reminded of this again after a homeless woman was killed in Toronto, unthinkably, trapped in a clothing donation bin just nine days after a man died in similar circumstances in Vancouver. At least eight people have died this way since 2015. That is eight too many – especially since the deaths were caused by charitable services ostensibly meant to help the vulnerable.