Jessica Beachum had recently graduated from a private drug rehab program and was moving into her own apartment this month when she was found dead in the River Thames in London, Ontario. at the end of July.
Advocates who knew her from her days roughing it on the streets of London and believed they helped her succeed in life are adamant her death was preventable.
In fact, Beacham’s death spurred action among some frontline workers, who rallied under the banner of The Forgotten 519 to demand that city officials act immediately to fill gaps in the social safety net.
They are staging a hunger strike due to start on Tuesday on the steps of the town hall to highlight the death of Beecham and the other 33 vulnerable people they say have died this year.
“I remember Jess as probably one of the most vibrant, passionate people I have ever met. She wasn’t crying. He didn’t sugarcoat things. Even though she had issues with her mental health and struggled to maintain reality, she was very much an advocate for herself,” said Carrie Butt, an outreach worker with Ark Aid Street Mission and one of the last people to see Beachum alive.
Beecham’s body was pulled from the River Thames near Ivy Park in central London on July 20. She was well known in London by people who also live on the streets, but also by outreach workers, police and paramedics.
“Every door in London, Ontario was closed to Jessica Beachum,” Butt said. “She was not allowed in CitiPlaza. She wasn’t invited anywhere indoors. She was turned away from the hospital and had frostbitten hands because she was denied medical care so many times.’
Investing in Jess
Since his mid-20s, Beacham has struggled with mental illness, which has made it difficult to find housing and services. She uses medication to manage untreated symptoms.
But those who knew Beachum called her special—charismatic, kind and full of life. They believed that with the right support, which they felt did not exist in London, she would succeed.
“We invested a lot of resources, more than average, to help her and follow her because it just didn’t seem like the right service to meet her needs in our community at all,” said Sarah Campbell, Ark. Executive Director of Aid Mission.
Beacham had recently spent a stint in a private rehabilitation center, paid for in part with money from a GoFundMe page set up by Ark Aid mission workers.
Jessica Beachum, center, with her sisters. (Contributed by Kate Fry)
“She had made tremendous strides in the last six months of her life, strides that at times seemed almost impossible.”
Beachum has been living with her family in Woodstock for the past few months, and workers have found her a place to live on her own since August 1. The owner knew of Beachum’s struggles and was willing to work with her.
“She was in a place of recovery,” Campbell said.
Return to London for a police matter
Then in July, Beecham returned to London to deal with a police matter, officials on the ground say, although specifics are not known. It is known that she was brought to London by the police, who were supposed to take her back to Woodstock. But that didn’t happen.
Woodstock police were not available to answer questions about the matter. London police could not answer specific questions about Beacham, but said that when a person has an outstanding warrant, they return to the jurisdiction where it happened to be dealt with.
“Basically, the issuing agency is responsible for visiting an out-of-town location to pick up and return the arrested party to their jurisdiction. Where resources do not allow this, the arresting agency may sometimes arrange with the issuing agency to assist and transport the party to the jurisdiction where the warrant is held,” the London Police Service said in a statement.
She is not the only person who has been neglected and abandoned. She’s not the only person to die this summer — Sadie Nicol-Beecham, sister
It is unclear to those who knew Beachum why she did not return to Woodstock with the police. The outreach workers said they tried to bring her back themselves as they watched her slide back into hard drug use. She was found in the river a few days later.
“The recent death of a woman found dead in the Deshkan Ziibiing (River Thames) is a shocking public display of the death we see every day,” advocacy group The Forgotten 519 said in a statement.
“Her death is emblematic of our failures as a city. Her death should not have happened. A death like hers must not happen again.’
“Ignored and Discarded”
Spurred on by Beacham’s death, The Forgotten 519 will launch the first major public protest in London on behalf of people living on the streets. Comprised of health workers and others who work with this population, they are calling on the city to stop the demolition of squats and encampments; to provide more support for campers at their campsites; and to open two indoor spaces to provide 24/7 support to people who do not have a home.
Beacham would have been glad the hunger strike was taking place and would have been right there on the steps of City Hall taking part in the action, said sister Sadie Nicholl-Beacham.
“I think Jessica would have been proud. She is not the only person who has been neglected and abandoned. She’s not the only person who’s going to die this summer because they’re struggling with mental health and they’re struggling with addiction and they’re living on the streets and they don’t have access to the care they need,” Nicol-Beecham said.
Beacham’s stepsister Kate Fry agreed.
“Jess would be there, front and center, yelling and screaming. She would be all for it because she knew deep down that what she needed was help. There are so many people who need help, but there are so many and it’s not enough,” Fry said.
On July 22, those who knew her commemorated her by sharing stories and coming together in grief.
“It was so nice to see the community come together for her because in a lot of people’s eyes she wasn’t concerned, but she was.” She was so loved. She deserves so much more out of her life than what she got,” Fry said.
Beecham is survived by a son, his parents and a number of siblings and step-siblings.
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