“Perceptions,” by Gerry Warner

Op-Ed Commentary

Dear readers, sorry to crap on your pre-Christmas celebrations, but that’s what I’m going to do. And I believe I’m justified because no less than BC Chief Coroner Lisa Lapointe says our province is in a state of “medical emergency” and she’s not talking about COVID-19.

She’s talking about opioid drug overdose deaths this year which are over the top in B.C. As of Oct. 31, some 1,782 British Columbians succumbed to drug overdoses surpassing the death toll of 1,765 in all of 2020. And there’s still two months to go! Tie a pretty ribbon around that one and put it under the tree. Coroner Lapointe didn’t mince words. “Simply put we are failing,” she says. “With six people now dying every single day in our province, the status quo cannot be accepted.”

At a news conference last week, Lapointe said fentanyl continues to be the main cause of overdose deaths with other deadly stimulants such as benzodiazepine and heroin found in the illicit drug supply. Making matters worse, benzodiazepine cannot be reversed by naloxone which is the standard treatment for reversing fentanyl overdoses.

“Today we will lose six more people. Tomorrow we’ll lose six more people. And by Christmas we’ll lose another 40 to 50 members of our community,” Lapointe said.

So how bad is it? Put it this way. In the past two years, opioid drug overdose deaths in B.C. have outpaced COVID-19 deaths in the province by more than 1,200 fatalities.

Speaking to Vancouver city council Oct. 22, Coastal Health Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Patricia Daly said replacing toxic street drugs with a controlled supply of opioids is the “single most important thing we can do,” to prevent overdose deaths, she says in a Vancouver Sun story.

“We cannot prescribe our way out of the overdose crisis,” Daly says. She calls so-called “compassion clubs” where drug users can get a clean supply of drugs like heroin and other opioids in a safe setting is the only answer. But doing this in a big city like Vancouver is one thing. The chances of such a controversial facility being established in Cranbrook, are likely slim to none. Nor is there much consensus on how people slide into opioid abuse.

But help may be on the way.

Early this year, Cranbrook city council approved conversion of an old bingo hall in the city to a homeless shelter that could put a roof over the heads of up to 40 of the city’s homeless population. Unfortunately, the conversion by BC Housing will likely not be completed until late January next year.

In the meantime, many of the city’s homeless are being housed in a former motel on the strip (Cranbrook Street) which isn’t a perfect solution but a whole lot better than trying to sleep “rough” in January when temperatures tumble.

But why in such an affluent society why are there so many homeless people in the first place?

Theories abound and clearly larger cities have larger homeless populations with an estimated 9,200 sleeping homeless every night in Toronto, according to the Fred Victor social service agency. The agency says 53% of Canadians live pay cheque to pay cheque and it only takes one missed cheque to have them on the street.

Mental illness is a major cause. So is violence, especially towards women. One-bedroom apartments in big cities like Toronto and Vancouver rent for $1,800- a-month or more and people end up living in their vehicles. Throw in unemployment, the lack of affordable housing, alcoholism and opioids hundreds of times stronger than any drugs before and you have the dangerous cocktail that drives people to the mean streets of Canada.

But what about compassion? It’s close to Christmas after all. We have great agencies in town like Community Connections, Street Angels, the Salvation Army, many churches and more.

Pick up the phone and dial your agency of choice. It only takes one call. If your smart phone is truly “smart” it will show you the way.

e-KNOW file photo

– Gerry Warner is a retired journalist, who wishes everyone a Merry Christmas, especially the homeless, who deserve it more than many of us.

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