Toronto non-profits unveil a mural by harm-reduction workers, honoring unhoused lives lost and supporting community grief and healing.
Colourful Tribute Emerges in Toronto Alley
Toronto unveiled a new mural Thursday that serves as a public tribute to unhoused and underhoused people whose lives have been lost. Located on Callaghan Lane, behind Street Health at 338 Dundas Street E., the artwork features colourful hand prints on a brick wall, symbolizing presence, remembrance, and resilience.
Community Organizations Lead the Initiative
Street Health, a Toronto-based non-profit providing health care and operating an overdose prevention site for unhoused people, partnered with Rittenhouse: A New Vision, a transformative justice-focused organization, to bring the mural to life. The project was supported by a grant from the Toronto Arts Council and guided by Indigenous artist Joseph Sagaj.
Training Program Inspires Artistic Healing
The mural is the culmination of a 10-week course for harm-reduction workers facilitated by Peter Martin. Martin explained the program helps participants process grief and normalize discussions around frequent deaths in their work. “This piece of art provides a place where people on the street can grieve those they’ve lost,” he said. “The hand prints say: ‘We are here, we have been here.'”
A Space for Collective Mourning
Street Health emphasized the mural’s role as a neighbourhood focus for remembrance and reflection. Chaudhry Ahmed, manager of Street Health’s harm reduction team, noted, “This art creation is a tool for our clients and staff to share their grief and remember the many who have died due to the toxic drug crisis and staggering homelessness in our city.”
Context of Homelessness and Crisis
Toronto faces ongoing challenges with homelessness and opioid toxicity. City data reported 8,898 people used the shelter system on a recent Tuesday, with 9,858 people classified as actively homeless in the past three months. Preliminary data from Toronto Public Health recorded 459 confirmed opioid toxicity deaths and four probable deaths in the city last year.
Healing Through Art and Community
The Wall of Remembrance mural not only honours those lost but also empowers harm-reduction workers and community members to engage with grief openly. By creating a permanent public space for remembrance, the project aims to foster healing, awareness, and a shared sense of humanity amid the ongoing social crises affecting Toronto.
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