The Indigenous Harm Reduction Network, National Indigenous Women’s Housing Network, and Women’s National Housing & Homelessness Network are calling for urgent government action to end preventable deaths by ensuring access to safe housing, culturally grounded supports, and harm reduction services.
Amanda Nahwegahbow was a mother of three, a beloved daughter, parent, and member of the community whose life was cut tragically short at the Energy Court tent community in Sudbury, Ontario on January 12. The 38-year-old Wiikwemkoong woman was surviving in an encampment simply because her basic needs for safe, stable housing were unmet—a situation no one in our community should ever have to face. Her death in a tent fire is a devastating loss of life for her family, her friends, and all who knew her.
This loss was not inevitable. It was a result of a systemic failure to realize the human right to housing, which guarantees that every person has access to safe, adequate, affordable, and culturally appropriate shelter. When people are forced to pitch a tent, because there are no other viable housing options, we set the stage for preventable tragedies.
Amanda was not an anonymous statistic, she was our neighbour, a mother, and someone who deserved dignity, care, and support.
Far too many people in Sudbury and across Ontario are experiencing homelessness because our housing systems have failed them. Homelessness in Ontario is rising at an alarming rate–nearly 85,000 people went without a home in 2025, an increase of almost 8% in just one year, and nearly 50% since 2021, with rural and northern communities seeing some of the fastest growth. The lack of affordable housing, inadequate supports for people with complex needs, and a fragmented approach to harm reduction all contribute to conditions that put lives at risk.
Ensuring that people have a secure place to live must be a policy and moral priority. Housing is not a privilege, it is a human right.
We honour Amanda’s life by calling on all levels of government to act with urgency: invest in affordable, supportive, and culturally grounded housing options; adopt rights-based housing strategies that prevent people from being pushed into unsafe conditions and forced into impossible choices; expand harm reduction services that keep people alive and supported with dignity by decriminalizing drug use; and treat homelessness as a health issue that requires comprehensive mental health supports.
In 2025, the National Housing Council reviewed Canada’s duty to uphold the human right to housing for women, Two-Spirit, trans, and gender-diverse people through the Neha Review Panel. The panel’s recommendations provide a clear path to realizing the human right to housing grounded in the experiences of lived experts, just like Amanda.
No one should have to die because they had nowhere safe to lay their head. Homelessness leaves people vulnerable to a death that is completely avoidable.
Amanda’s death is a stark reminder that when we fall short on our basic responsibilities to each other, the consequences are fatal. We owe it to her, her family, and everyone struggling without a home to do better.
May Amanda rest in peace. And may we all commit to housing justice and an end to the tragedies that will continue to result from this national housing crisis.
In solidarity,
Denise Baldwin
Co-Founder, Network Director, Indigenous Harm Reduction Network
Marie McGregor Pitawanakwat
Chair, National Indigenous Women’s Housing Network
Co-Chair, Women’s National Housing & Homelessness Network
Stefania Seccia
Executive Director, Advocacy & Public Affairs, Women’s National Housing & Homelessness Network