Toronto street nurse Cathy Crowe receives Order of Canada

Cathy Crowe, a well-known Toronto street nurse and activist, was among 47 invested into the Order of Canada on Wednesday.

At the ceremony in Ottawa, Crowe was honoured for her decades of advocacy on behalf of those experiencing homelessness.

“As one of Canada’s first street nurses, Cathy Crowe has devoted her career to using health care for social justice,” Crowe’s official recipient’s citation stated.

“Through her creative and tenacious efforts as a social activist, she has bridged the issues of health and homelessness with a goal of making housing available for all.”

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In 1998, Crowe co-founded Toronto Disaster Relief Committee, a homelessness advocacy group that was active until 2012. She has also worked on several documentaries — one called Street Nurse — and wrote a book, Dying for a Home: Homeless Activists Speak Out, published in 2007.

Crowe has been vocal as Toronto’s shelter system grapples with a lack of spaces to house the city’s most vulnerable residents this winter.

The Order of Canada has been awarded by the Governor General since 1967 for achievement in community service.

Actor Mike Myers and soccer star Christine Sinclair were among those who received honours at Wednesday’s ceremony.