'He was my baby': Memorial service held for man who died in N.B. public washroom
A crowd of around 150 people gathered at St. George's Anglican Church Wednesday to remember Luke Landry. The 35-year-old died last Monday inside a public washroom next to Moncton City Hall.
After overdosing in the afternoon, staff at Ensemble Moncton, an overdose prevention site, tried to find a place for him to stay the night.
After hours of trying, shelter couldn't be found for Landry and he left Ensemble with no place to stay.
Charlie Burrell, the founder of the Humanity Project, was in attendance at the service and said Landry's death didn't need to happen.
"It's preventable and more people are going to fall through the cracks so we shouldn't let him die in vain. A lot of people are out there struggling and need help and our system is failing them and people deserve better than that," said Burrell.
Landry had lived in Moncton for the better part of a decade. He was a devout Christian, and the father of two little girls in Truro, Nova Scotia.
Kim Spencer was a client of Harvest House shelter with Landry in 2014 and 2015 and said his old friend was quite the rapper.
"He could dance like nobody could dance. A very energetic individual and he loved people. Bottom line, he loved people and he tried to help somebody when he could," said Spencer.
CTV News spoke to Landry's mother Mary MacDonald from her home in Prince George, B.C. on Tuesday.
MacDonald talked to her son the day he died. She said he had gotten out of jail that morning and had nothing, so she sent him $100 for boots and clothes.
She knew he wasn't dressed properly for the weather and Landry wanted new boots and jeans because he had a lot of pride and didn't want to look like he was down on his luck.
MacDonald is aware front line workers at Ensemble Moncton tried to find shelter for her son, but none was available.
"He left there trying to find something on his own," said MacDonald. "I don't know what happened. I believe in what she [Ensemble staff member] said that he wasn't safe to go out... and he was let out."
She doesn't know for sure, but suspects her son died of a drug overdose.
"He was my baby and I had so much hope for him," said an emotional MacDonald. "I kept thinking he could turn this around. He had promised he would call me... the last thing he said to me when I talked to him was, 'I love you mom.'"
MacDonald was glad to hear there was a memorial service in Moncton for her son.
"It's a place for his friends to grieve and he had many friends in Moncton. A lot of the homeless people in Moncton were his friends as well," she said.
MacDonald is relieved to hear about a new emergency shelter in Moncton, but wants more for people coming out of jail, struggling with addiction and living on the street.
"People are going to die if some things don't change. My son deserves to be recognized for who he was. He's not a street person, he was so much more," said MacDonald.
She highlighted that Landry was not a bad person, just someone with a bad problem.
Her son's ashes will be sent to her in Prince George and a celebration of life for him will be held this summer in Cape Breton.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of 'catastrophic' damage
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States, injuring at least three people.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.