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It is estimated that 75 per cent of deaths due to homelessness are missed each year. Since 1985, the Toronto Homeless Memorial has been remembering and honouring the small fraction of those whose identities and stories are known.

On the first Tuesday of each month, at 12:00 p.m. outside the south door of the Church of the Holy Trinity, a solemn memorial is held to remember these victims of the streets. Recent deaths have highlighted the hazards of cold weather, but researchers say more people die in the heat and humidity of the summer months.

“The Out of the Cold program shut so [there are] fewer options,” said Cathy Crowe, a street nurse and frontline advocate for people affected by homelessness. Crowe says the negative effects of heat, humidity, and dehydration can be especially hazardous for people living on the streets who suffer from a higher incidence of cardiac disease, head injuries, and seizures.

Experts say that heat is the number one weather-related killer in North America. “Research from the City of Toronto several years ago found that an average of 120 people die every summer versus 105 in the winter. Not all of these would be homeless,” said Tanya Gulliver-Garcia, research coordinator for the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness/Homeless Hub at York University.

Over the past 30 years, 740 people have died because of homelessness and the concomitant risks. The number—a conservative count—peaked in 2005 with 72. Last year, there were 18 based on figures provided by the Toronto Homeless Memorial.