Once a homeowner with an assistant manager job — Shannon Johnson now sleeps in a farm feed bag on the streets of London, Ont. with her bullboxer dog, Randy.
“I worked all my life. I made one bad decision and it put me on the street,” said the 53-year-old.
As advocacy group The Forgotten 519 stages a hunger strike calling for the city to change homelessness supports, people experiencing homelessness face the daily realities of growing needs for housing, mental health and addiction supports in an overloaded system.
“It’s horrible,” said Johnson. “I’ve worked all my life ’till I was 16 and I don’t get any credit for any of that. I am nothing now because I’m guilty by location. I’m guilty by appearance. I’m guilty by association.”
Just two years ago, Johnson lived in an apartment in London. Outside of St. Joseph’s Hospitality Centre on Dundas Street East, she