The fatal overdose of a 28-year-old man, who left a downtown drop-in centre he frequented after being told there was no room for him to sleep, has left his friends and community reeling and searching for answers.The man, whom the Star is not identifying at this time without his family’s permission, was often a guest of the St. Felix Centre, a neighbourhood hub on Augusta Ave. where men and women can shower, enjoy meals, receive counselling and use computers.In the winter, St. Felix also acts as a 24-7 drop-in centre.Though the 34 mats for sleeping and 16 additional spaces were full Wednesday night, staff welcomed the man, provided him with two bowls of soup and told him about a temporary warming centre, where he should have been able to find a space to lie down and sleep.But shortly after he left St. Felix, about 20 minutes after he was last seen by his friends, he was found without vital signs in the washroom of a KFC restaurant less than a city block away, at Queen St. W.A worker from St. Felix, who happened to be on break, found him. Emergency services were called at 9:40 p.m., but he died in hospital.“Our tremendous front-line staff allowed him access to the dining hall where he had food, but was told they didn’t have space for him,” said local Councillor Joe Cressy, who told the Star about the circumstances leading up to the man’s death and how he was found.“I think this is a painful, real example of a real life and a real person who used our system and didn’t get the full level of supports that they needed because the resources weren’t there,” he said.Staff at St. Felix would not comment.Police reported Thursday that the heroin the young man had consumed was believed to be laced with the more powerful drug fentanyl, which has been connected to a surge of deaths among intravenous drug users.A spokesperson from the mayor’s office described the death as a “tragic circumstance” ...
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