People who live on the streets of Montreal are dying in greater numbers.
The coroner says the number of deaths in the past few years has spiked and with winter coming, advocates are very concerned.
Alone — and in the cold — 62-year-old Nelson Ouellette died earlier this week on a sidewalk in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve. He’s part of a growing number of homeless people dying on the streets, according to David Chapman, the executive director of Resilience Montreal, a community organization that supports people who are homeless.
“The goal is often to not be seen, and not be moved. The problem with that is when you’re alone and hiding. There’s a higher probability of an early death,” he said.
In 2023, the Quebec coroner’s office investigated 72 deaths of people who were homeless — a significant increase from 2019 to 2021 when, on average, 20 people died on the streets each …