Rita, or Mary as she was known, was a familiar face in Toronto's east end. She lived in a small encampment and was well-regarded by the community for her resilience and positive spirit. A staff member at the Tim Horton's near her encampment reported seeing her being loaded into an ambulance on Saturday morning, and she was later pronounced dead.
A few bouquets have been placed on the belongings of an unhoused woman believed to have died in the city's east end on Dec. 21. People in Toronto ’s east end are shaken after a well-known unhoused woman from the community reportedly died over the weekend. Rita, or Mary as she was known to many in the area, had been staying for some time in a small encampment in a parking lot on the west side of the Shoppers Drug Mart near Danforth and Coxwell avenues.
A staff member at the nearby Tim Horton’s, which is located within the drug store, told CP24 that she arrived to work around 6:50 a.m. on Saturday and saw the woman being loaded into an ambulance in the parking lot next to the coffee shop. She appeared to be only wearing a top, Meherunnessa Meem told CP24.com on Tuesday evening. “Because of the cold, I think she died. … It is too much cold,” she said, adding that paramedics were there for about 15 minutes before transporting the woman to the hospital. Meem said people from the community would come daily to help the lady, who loved double double coffee, coke, and chocolate chip muffins.“She was bright. Always had a smile for people she knew and who looked out for her. Her eyes twinkled when she said thank you and shared a laugh and a smile,” said Alaimo, who told CP24.com that she met Mary about three years ago when she moved to the neighbourhood. “She was independent, never taking more than she needed. She always refused anything more than that. She was so strong. I always looked at her in awe - such a strong woman who never gave up.” Alaimo said she was looking forward to seeing Mary on Saturday, but when she went to the Tim’s near where she was known to have been staying she wasn’t there. “I said to my husband that it was odd - and it turned out that she had passed the night before,” Alaimo said.
Toronto Unhoused Death Community Cold
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