CONVERSATIONS THAT MATTER
In May, 170 people in B.C., or more than five a day, died from suspected illicit drug use. That’s a 93 per cent increase in death due to overdose over last May. Compare that to 52 COVID-19 deaths the same month and it is not unreasonable to ask if the surge in overdose deaths is related to the lockdown associated with COVID-19.
According to Well Being Trust, the number of additional deaths attributable to COVID-19 could be as high as 150,000 people in the U.S. Death from alcoholism, drug overdoses and suicides, known as deaths of despair, were already at record levels in the United States before COVID-19.
“We know the stressors that accompany this pandemic, they are job loss and financial instability, anxiety, grief, depression and other factors,” said Dr. Benjamin Miller of Well Being Trust. “Add
in social isolation, a loss of hope and many health-care programs that weren’t accessible” and Miller says he worries about people who need help.
We invited Miller to join us for a Conversation That Matters about the desperate need to reopen assistance programs. See the video at vancouversun.com/ tag/conversations-that-matter. Conversations That Matter is a partner program for the Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue at Simon Fraser University. This program is made possible thanks to the support of viewers like you. Please become a Patreon subscriber and support this program with a $1 pledge at goo.gl/ypxyds