It was a tragic and unnecessary end to a vibrant and creative young life and a loss that has sent shock waves through a community that is all too familiar with death. Crystal Papineau, 35, is being remembered as a gregarious, open-hearted and generous person who loved to draw and was a talented poet. She was a frequent and welcome guest of agencies who serve marginalized men and women, and a friend to many of the people who visited them. Papineau died earlier this week after she was trapped inside a clothing donation bin, near Bloor St. W. and Dovercourt Rd.As Toronto shivered through its first cold weather alert of 2019, several hundred friends and anti-poverty advocates gathered Thursday night where Papineau was found, to remember a “lovely human being” and urge politicians to do more to help other homeless women.Speakers noted that, on the night Papineau died, women’s shelters across Toronto were full, while back-up respite centres and two 24/7 drop-ins for women and trans people were over capacity.While Mayor John Tory and others this week expressed concern about the design and location of donation bins, those at the vigil focused on the broader systemic issues that led to the tragedy.Read more:Donation bin manufacturer stops production after Toronto woman becomes trapped and diesPoverty, not donation bins, cause death, say advocates as death toll mountsHe died during a Vancvouer cold snap, trapped in a clothing donation bin. Poverty advocates say it’s time to act“Toronto continues to experience a housing and homelessness crisis, and that crisis contributed to Crystal’s death,” said Kapri Rabin of Street Health, an agency that supports homeless people. “Like so many others in the city, Crystal could not access any appropriate place to stay,” she said.Rabin and others called for the city to immediately open an additional 2,000 shelter beds to prevent more deaths.Tory’s promise last year to address th ...
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