Toronto Public Health will begin tracking the deaths of homeless people as of the New Year.
According to spokesperson Paul Fleiszer, the agency will work with community partners to track the deaths of all “homeless individuals,” whether they occur inside or outside of the city-funded shelters, as of Jan. 1.
Previously, the city only recorded the deaths of people who died inside a city-funded shelter or immediately after leaving one.
According to a report in the Toronto Star, there have been 247 such deaths since 2007.
Anti-poverty advocates have long contended that there is a significant number of homeless people dying on the streets and have called on the city to get a better handle on the number.
