Toronto Star
'Bag Lady' death in North York
called vote issue
BY LORRAINE O'GRADY
STAFF REPORTER
A dead woman whose homeless plight could become a megacity election
issue has been identified by police.
Her name was Linda Housten, and she was 48 years old when
she died of a heart attack in her 'home' - the washroom of a gas station
at Yonge St. and York Mills Rd.
But Housten wasn't always a bag lady.
She was once married, according to police, and had two
daughters who tried to find their other to get her some help.
But they were never able to track her down, a police spokesperson
said.
Housten was diagnosed with schizophrenia last year and
had severe mood swings.
In death, Housten could acheive the notoriety she never
sought while carting around her belongings in shopping bags.
Her death comes on the heels of comments from megacity
mayoral candidate Mel Lastman that there are no homeless people in
North York, where he is currently the mayor.
Said social worker Stuart Goldman: "Linda was a very
powerless person in life, but in death she may become very powerful."
Goldman knew Housten well. He was her case worker at the
Community Mental Health Centre.
Housten had been living on the streets of North York for
more than three years, according to police.
Social Workers with the Community Mental Health Centre
in Don Mills had tried for the past year to get her some help, but
she continually refused, said executive director Gary Graigen.
One of her other "homes" was a bench in a parkette
at the corner of Leslie St. and Lawrence Ave E.
