Real Leclair, aka Homeless Joe, passed away.
A Go Fund Me account has been set up to help a friendly and well-liked homeless man who died in South Etobicoke.
More than $2,000 has been raised by friends to send the body of Real Leclair, also affectionately known as Homeless Joe, to his native Quebec.
Scott Mills, a former Toronto police officer who befriended Leclair, said his friend died from a heart attack while gathering water from a river near his shack in South Etobicoke.
“Réal’s body was found by a mountain biker,” Mills wrote on social media. “22 Division Toronto Police led by Officer Rich Nimmo and team, as well as Coroner Dr. Kumar Gupta, have gone above and beyond to determine what happened and honour Réal.”
A Go Fund Me page has been created to raise funds to send Homeless Joe to his native Quebec.
Street Nurse Anne Marie Batten and Mills are in touch with his family who will be travelling to Toronto from Quebec to take Leclair’s remains home for cremation and burial at a family cemetery.
“Réal’s family did all they could to help him, as did many people,” Mills wrote. “Mental illness is a bitch.”
Mills said any excess funds raised will be donated to agencies chosen by the family who help homeless people with mental illness.
A ceremony to honour Leclair and a number of homeless people who died recently was held on September 12 at the Toronto Homeless Memorial at Trinity Square outside Holy Trinity Church in downtown Toronto.
There were dozens of tributes on social media as people paid tribute to Leclairé.
“Real was an inspiration,” wrote Karen Reed, who has been following Leclair’s plight on social media.
“My condolences to his family and all who loved him.”
Darylene Foster said Leclair was a special person.
“May you rest in peace,” Foster wrote. “May you find the happiness that you could not in his world.”
Cal Millar, a former journalist, who also followed Leclair’s hard life expressed his condolence.
“Scott, sorry to hear that Réal has passed away,” Millar wrote. “You did so much through the years to help make his life better and he appreciated your friendship.”
“I’m so sorry to hear this Scotty. You’ve been a champion for the cause for as long as I can remember,” said Rebecca Boyd. “I know he meant something special to you.”
Emily McKiernan said she met Leclair briefly and it was sad to hear of his death.
“He was a very decent down to earth man,” she said. “My heart goes out to his family in this difficult time.”