Mother of woman who died after bug bite infection calls for increased services for homeless | 24CA News

Wanda Natawayous of Saskatoon worries about her granddaughter. The preschooler’s mom Angela Andrews not too long ago died, and she or he typically wakes up crying.

“I have to explain to her why her mother’s not around now. Especially when she’s older, it’s going to be hard,” stated Natawayous of her granddaughter Raelynn Andrews-Walker.

Andrews was residing on the streets of Regina earlier than she died on Oct. 4. 

One day, she was bit on the temple by an unknown bug. She went to the hospital for the chunk, however left earlier than medical doctors might give her her outcomes. Because she had no tackle or telephone, hospital workers have been unable to achieve her. 

Natawayous says the chunk resulted in a blood an infection. Eventually, 22-year-old Andrews had two strokes and died. Doctors assume there could even have been an underlying autoimmune dysfunction that was by no means identified.

Life had been arduous for Andrews main as much as the deadly bug chunk.

“She was going through some things. When the baby (Raelynn) was about four months old, she left. And she got into addictions,” stated Natawayous.

Andrews was taking medication like crystal meth and fentanyl. 

“But it didn’t matter how far she fell into her addictions, Raelynn was always the first thing on her mind. Any kind of help she received she would give half of whatever she received to Raelynn to help with her.”

Natawayous says Andrews needed to get therapy. But that it was arduous for her to make that step as a result of she had no tackle, telephone or some other method to contact anybody or be contacted. 

“Just a couple weeks before she passed, she got ahold of me and she wanted to go into detox,” she stated.

More companies wanted

Natawayous says her daughter died as a result of there are usually not sufficient companies for these with out properties. She needs the Government of Saskatchewan to step up. And she needs it to start out with reversing a change to the Saskatchewan Income Support (SIS) program. She needs the federal government to cease giving the cash on to the folks on SIS, and return to having that cash go straight to landlords. 

“They’re giving people this money and they’re expecting them to go out and pay their bills when they’re not mentally prepared to do it,” Natawayous stated. 

“Before they had their homes paid for … they could have their bills paid directly, and they weren’t in these situations.”

She says many individuals with addictions or psychological well being points are usually not conversant in budgeting cash.

Natawayous misses her daughter significantly and desires folks to listen to her story.

“I don’t want to see anyone else’s child or mother or father or aunt, uncle, cousin or anything to be out there and pass away because of the same situation that my daughter passed away from. It was unnecessary and no one else should have to lose their family members because of lack of services.”

Funding neighborhood employees

Andrews was a resident of the homeless encampment Camp Hope in Pepsi Park (Core Park) in fall 2021. When the camp was dismantled, 40 of its residents went to a brief shelter, whereas 80 have been left with out shelter.

Of these 80 folks, one in 4 have died since final November. 

These numbers come from Alysia Johnson, one of many founding organizers of Camp Hope and a board chair at Carmichael Outreach in Regina. But she says the individuals who have died, like Andrews, are usually not statistics. 

“What the community needs to understand is that there is a real family behind that,” stated Johnson. 

Like Andrews, many homeless folks lack a telephone or tackle.

“These are the kind of life-or-death logistical challenges…  And we had pregnant mothers at Camp Hope. We had people that we were trying to coordinate getting them to the hospital in labour. And I can’t stress how difficult that is when people don’t have an address and don’t have a phone number,” Johnson stated. 

Both Natawayous and Johnson say there are usually not sufficient shelters in Regina. And those that do exist are momentary companies that do not totally meet the wants of those that are homeless. 

“We tend to frame these issues through this idea of capital spending and capital projects,” stated Johnson, who feels that an excessive amount of onus is positioned on merely constructing items to accommodate the homeless.

“I don’t know a nonprofit in Regina that has ever recommended that solution,” Johnson stated. 

“We do have vacant housing units and what we need are human to human supports. I need funding for staff so that people can help look after one another and provide those wrap-around supports and deal with the underlying causes.”

Johnson says addictions, psychological well being and different helps are usually not capital initiatives. 

“This is human work. If we invest in the people, that will ultimately help remove barriers for service.”

Johnson suggests having addictions councillor and caseworkers on-staff at homeless housing items who can provide help, ensure that these with psychological well being points are taking their treatment, and check-in on folks to verify they’re secure. 

24CA News reached out to the Saskatchewan Ministry of Social Services for remark, however didn’t obtain a response by the given deadline. This story might be up to date with the ministry’s response as soon as it is obtained.