Eight people experiencing homelessness in Nanaimo last year died, with their cause deemed accidental. A vast majority of accidental deaths were from drug toxicity. (File Photo/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

TRAGIC NUMBERS

Accidental deaths among homeless in Nanaimo reach record levels

Oct 12, 2022 | 12:07 PM

NANAIMO — New data from the B.C. Coroners Service is highlighting not just how many people are struggling on local streets, but how many are losing their life.

According to chief coroner Lisa Lapointe, eight people experiencing homelessness suffered accidental deaths in Nanaimo through 2021, compared to three in 2020 and five in 2019.

Between 2012 and 2018, a further 14 people on the street died in deaths deemed accidental.

“This report reflects the risks and realities that people experiencing homelessness face every day,” Lapointe said in her statement. “We know that many are facing significant health concerns, including physical disabilities, mental health challenges and substance-use issues.”

The number of accidental deaths in Nanaimo in 2021 was behind Vancouver (50), Surrey (29), Victoria (18), Abbotsford (14), Kelowna and Prince George (11 each).

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The numbers at a local level do not factor in deaths by natural causes or suicide.

Provincial numbers, which account for those causes of death, showed 247 people last year died while living on the street. Of those 247 people, 44 resided in the Island Health authority.

In 2021, roughly 79 per cent of total fatalities B.C.-wide involving people living on the street were from illicit drug toxicity.

Fifteen were deemed to have died from natural causes, 14 were another type of accidental death, five were suicides and one was determined to be a homicide.

Another 17 were undetermined.

Accidental death among those unhoused has skyrocketed since 2019 when 87 were reported, spurred mainly by the drug toxicity crisis.

A vast majority, 83 per cent, of those who died in 2021 were men, while people aged 30 to 59 accounted for nearly three-quarters of the deaths.

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