Overdose crisis linked to rising death toll of B.C. homeless people

175, including 16 in Victoria, died in the province in 2016, up from 70 the year before, report says

The number of homeless people dying on B.C. streets has increased steadily since 2011, in large part because of the overdose crisis, a new report by the B.C. Coroners Service has found.

A total of 175 homeless people — including 16 in Victoria — died in B.C. in 2016, more than double the 70 such deaths recorded the year before and up dramatically from 2011, when 25 homeless deaths were recorded.

Of the 175 deaths, more than half — 93 — were the result of drug overdoses or alcohol poisoning. That’s up sharply from the 38 homeless people who died due to drugs or alcohol the year before.

The biggest increase in overdose deaths in the homeless population was in males ages 30 to 60 — which matches the trend in the general population, said Andy Watson, spokesman for the B.C. Coroners Service. “It certainly looks like it correlates. I think the overdose deaths has really been a key part of that.”

The overdose crisis claimed 1,489 lives in B.C. last year.

Of the 175 homeless deaths in 2016, 147 were men. Just over half the people who died were between the ages of 40 and 59.

Rev. Al Tysick, founder of the Dandelion Society, which helps the most marginalized in the street community, said people need to see the human stories beyond the statistics.

“Let’s talk about the people who haven’t had a chance since the day they were born, those born into poverty, born into drugs and alcohol, mental illness. We as a society have left them out on the streets to die.”

As he has done for decades, Tysick hits the downtown streets every morning, dishing out coffee, muffins and warm blankets to people sleeping rough.

Members of the street community are “part of the human fabric of Victoria,” Tysick said, and they’re too often forgotten by politicians who have focused on the middle class.

“We can’t tolerate one death as a society,” he said. “We’ve got to do better than this.”

Greater Victoria’s homeless population is estimated at 931 people, according to last year’s comprehensive count of homeless people in B.C. An estimated 7,600 people in the province have no place to call home.

The majority of homeless people — 59 per cent — died in communities covered by Vancouver Coastal Health and Fraser Health. Vancouver saw the highest number of deaths in 2016, at 43.

The coroners report looked at all unexpected deaths of homeless people between 2007 and 2016. While homelessness has many definitions, the coroner service looked at the deaths of people living outdoors, in short-term shelters, safe houses and transition houses.

Watson said it’s important to look at the number of homeless people dying so the B.C. Coroners Service can make recommendations on how to prevent similar deaths.

“The homeless population is a vulnerable population, generally speaking, and I think it’s extremely important that we share this data to help inform decision makers and policy makers so they’re aware of who is most at risk and how these folks who are homeless are dying.”