Updated: Fri Dec. 19 2008 17:12:05

ctvbc.ca

VANCOUVER —

A bouquet of red poinsettias atop a blanket of fresh snow marks the spot a homeless woman lost her life trying to keep warm in downtown Vancouver early Friday morning.

Police say the 47-year-old Abbotsford, B.C. woman -- known only as Tracey -- died after trying to stay warm in a shopping cart. Her body was discovered between after 4:30 a.m. at the corner of Davie Street and Hornby Street.

"I've been on 30 years (and) this is probably one of the hardest calls I've had," said Vancouver Police Sgt. Steve Gibson.

Police spokesperson Const. Jana McGuiness says officers approached Tracey at least three times Thursday night, offering to take her to a nearby shelter. Police believe she was trying to keep warm with a candle or heater and her blankets caught fire.

Police don't know why the woman refused to go to a shelter, but said she was "annoyed and argumentative" when approached for the last time around 12:30 a.m.

"She wanted to be left alone," said McGuiness. "I find that hard to believe given that it's minus 10 C, but we have to respect her privacy and independence and leave her alone."

People who knew Tracey said she didn't like to be inside.

"She preferred to stay outside," a man called Raven told CTV News. "She had candles in front of the cart then she put a cloth over her cart trying to stay warm from the heat and I guess it just went up."

McGuiness says shortly after 4:30 a.m. a passenger in a taxi travelling through the intersection of Davie St. and Hornby St. saw a figure engulfed in flames inside the structure, and called 911 but when firefighters arrived it was too late to save the woman.

Police are now trying to determine what happened between the last time they approached her shortly after midnight and the time of her death.

At this point police are calling the incident a cold weather-related death.

Cornelis Groenewegen says Tracey opened the door for customers at the 7/11 across the street, asking for spare change.

"She's got a habit, she was a drug user like most," he said. "At the same time she did something kind. People were kind to her. She was a sweet old lady."

Trying to help

Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson says this event is even more tragic because a shelter that accommodates shopping carts is set to open shortly.

"We're opening shelter space for people with carts and pets, who might otherwise avoid a shelter, and we're going to keep working hard throughout this tough weather to protect people from harm," Robertson wrote in a statement Friday.

But housing advocate Judy Graves says no matter how many shelter spaces are available, it's impossible to force people inside.

"There's mental illness, social phobia, some forms of autism that makes being in crowded spaces absolutely unbearable for people and they won't come in," Graves said.

"We're just going to have to keep trying -- When we have enough permanent housing that will make a difference."

Other options

Robertson is also considering other ways to remove mentally ill people from the streets in life and death circumstances.

"We can't literally let people die on our streets that can't take care of themselves," he said. "That's immoral in my mind."

One of the options is a program called "Code Blue," where outreach workers can forcibly bring people inside if they're believe to suffer from mental illness. It's used in New York when temperatures dip below -9 C.

"It is something to look at," says Rev. Bruce Curtiss of Vancouver's Union Gospel Mission. "If someone is out there and not in a capacity for whatever reason."

A final decision could not be made by the city and would rest with B.C.'s provincial government. There's concern a Canadian version of Code Blue would be unconstitutional.

"The issue there really is 'are we barred by the charter of rights and freedom from implementing that particular system or is there some other approach that our government could use to help someone like this individual?'" said B.C. Solicitor General John Van Dongen.

Not an isolated incident

This is the second time this year a homeless person has died trying to keep warm in Vancouver.

In January, Darrell Mickasko died and a woman was severely burned when their portable stove exploded as they used it for warmth while sheltering in a suburban alley.

Mickasko's death is said to have motivated Robertson in his outreach work with the homeless, including the opening of 200 new emergency shelter beds in B.C. this month.

"There are gaps in our safety nets, despite the best efforts of police and street workers, and we're going to work even harder to make sure we remove every barrier we can for people like Darrell and Tracey," said Robertson.

How to help

The City of Vancouver has provided a list of items that those without homes are most in need of during the cold winter months:

• Blankets
• Bus tickets
• Winter coats
• Long-sleeved shirts and thermal underwear
• Wool socks
• Sleeping bags
• Tarps (preferably small)
• Hygiene items (combs, toothbrushes, soap, shampoo, nail clippers, etc)
• Boots

Donations can be made to Gather and Give, a non-profit charity. It is open Tuesday-Saturday, and is located at 105-418 East Kent Avenue South -- just east of Main and south of Southwest Marine Drive. Or visit their website: www.gatherandgive.org.

Please Add Comments(13)

Rachel Phillips
I was shocked at how this story was covered by ctv news tonight. The entire focus was on how this woman refused to enter a shelter and mental illness, casting the blame in the wrong place, rather than on the fact that we have a huge homeless problem and our provincial government is not doing enough!

Shelters are not the solution during severe temperatures affordable housing is! This woman and many other people on the streets only choose to stay there when they must give up one more thing like a dog or shopping cart they have given up so much already and should not be forced into choosing between heat and all they have left! This tragedy just proves how the provincial government is continuing to fail.

Street people are God's creatures
I lived right outside for about a year and a half. When in Montreal I overheard a young man tell a bag-lady that she should just kill herself.
When people are treated like trash all of the time they may eventually become careless.
All of this is far too much for the humanist.
While on the street one of the Biblical verses that came to me over and over again was; "He who mocks the poor shows contempt for their maker".
Today I have post-secondary education but one of my dear friends is a lady who carries a doll around in a suitcase everywhere she goes. That doll is her "daughter".

Mr. B.
Come on Rachel. A lot of times the gov't deserves to get bashed but not here. I think all the local agencies are doing their very best to get everybody off the street during this very cold spell. This poor woman decided not to go to an available shelter & wanted to fend for herself. Whats happening on the streets right now & affordable housing are two different things.
I feel very sad for this lady. Nobody should have to die like that.
Rest in Peace Tracy.

Erin
I thought CTV did a very good job on this story. You can't solve all the homeless problems with affordable housing. Some people will refuse no matter what because they want to be on their own, just like Tracey. She wasn't looking for a handout and didn't want anyone's sympathy, and unfortunately this is what happened. You can't blame the government for the choices some people make, although they can do a lot to help the majority of homelessness (with social housing, mental care facilities etc.) there will always be people like Tracey who just want to be left alone.
CTV wasn't trying to shift the focus they were trying to inform the public about how homelessness isn't black and white and can't be solved simply by putting people under a roof.
Rachel, no one did this to her, please take this time to recognize this as an unfortunate tragedy and do your part to get to know the needy in your neighbourhood. the best thing you can do for them is to let them know you're always there to help and that you care.

Edward
Rachel Phillips' comments are spot on.

Mary M.
I agree with you Rachel 100 per cent.

Just J
Having known Tracey for a few years through my work on the street, I was saddened to hear of her death.
She had an alcohol probem and was a street drug user although sometimes you'd never know it.
She was articulate, nearly always independent, always opinionated and always outspoken.
She was respectful and polite when she panhandled and had a genuine interest in people.
I last saw Tracey back in October, just shortly after her mother passed away. At that time she declined my offer to talk, she had been drinking an I knew better than to continue our conversation.
Tracey was one of those people that everyone has a story about.
I'd always hoped she'd turn around her life. I'll miss her.
Rest In peace, Tracey.

Joe from St. Thomas
Had this been a man that was killed, it would not have even made the news.

Root Cause
A very tragic and sad ending to this woman's life. The root of the issue is the destruction that illegal drugs propagate in our society. So I present this question: Is this because the province does not provide proper care for homeless people or should the province spend more money to provide facilities for addicts to shoot up? I agree...British Columbia has some serious moral issues to sort out.

Dan
Affordable housing is NOT the solution.
Even if you gave a drug-addicted, mentally disabled individual $2,000/month for housing, they'd find another way to use that money.
There are are very few homeless people that aren't in one of these two categories.
Drug Addiction and Mental Health Treatment Centres are the solution. NOT affordable housing!

Rick
You're wrong!
Easy to blame the government for all the problems but lets be realistic and wake up. The liberal pathetic views of criminal justice in this province is to blame. Drug dealer to victim ultimately the one to blame is the drug dealers who brought her the drugs and fried her mind they have killed her more than anyone else. Blame the Hell's Angels for their extensive smuggling and the justice system for failing to execute drug dealers who ultimately kill many.

Andrew Iverson
It sounds like Tracey was impeded by her phobia of being indoors and around others rather than the shelter not accommodating shopping carts. So I don't think building more housing OR opening shelters with more relaxed rules would have been a solution in this particular case.
This situation, however, blasts the message that Vancouver needs to follow the example of countries with strong traditions of social cohesion such as Sweden or France and come up with a program that gently forces people who are mentally ill off the streets. These "bleeding hearts" that insist people have a right to be on the streets are missing the point: the homeless mentally ill are at war with something that is stronger than they are and that is bent on their destruction.
It is a measure of our compassion and sophistication as a society to be able to confront this in a meaningful way. Loudly proclaiming people have a right to live where they like is assuming our most vulnerable citizens are utterly in control of their lives.

rachetgrrl
Here we go.
Do you have experience with homeless people? Probably not.
I do. Years and years of experience as a psych nurse.
When they won't go, they won't go. You can't force anyone - and sometimes it's just the way they want it. We have to accept that no matter how much our hearts want to believe we MUST help, we can't.
It's no-one's fault.
It's just the way things happen.
Don't point fingers - it does nothing.