118 deaths in 3 months: Boyle Street grappling with more deaths on streets
Many of the deaths were caused by opioid poisoning
At most funerals, mourners greatly outnumber the dead.
But at a memorial held in downtown Edmonton on Monday, the ratio threatened to tip the other way.
Dozens of people crowded into a small courtyard to grieve 118 people who died between the end of June and the first week of October.
Small framed photographs of the people who died filled several tables, two rows deep. The deceased were all members of the Boyle Street Community Services community — many were homeless when they died.
More men died than women, and Indigenous people were over-represented among those who lost their lives, said Lina Meadows, senior manager of adult programming for Boyle Street. The oldest people to die were in their 70s, while the youngest was just 14.
"That was a 14-year-old boy who died as a result of a drug poisoning and was found unresponsive outside," Meadows said.
Meadows said most of the deaths were caused by opioid poisoning, but that other compounding social issues are taking a toll on the community of people who use Boyle Street's services.
"A majority of our folks are losing their lives unnecessarily to the poisoned drug supply, but we're also seeing folks die as a result of homelessness, as a result of inadequate shelter and access to resources," Meadows said.
Boyle Street holds a memorial each quarter to remember community members who have died. Meadows said this past quarter has been the deadliest period since they began keeping data on the deaths in 2020.
Meadows said the 118 people are just those they know about.
She said it's hard to keep track of what happens to all of the people who've used Boyle Street's services, but added that Edmonton Police Service has been trying to help by notifying Boyle Street when officers respond to a death of someone who was known to be part of the community.
Standing near the tables already overflowing with photos of the dead, Meadows worried that next quarter will be even worse. This month alone saw 53 deaths by Oct. 29.
The arrival of colder temperatures is also concerning: last year, a record number of people were killed in encampment fires, Meadows said.
She said simply expanding the city's shelter system isn't enough to save people – and that while housing by itself is not a solution, having more housing options that come with support is urgently needed.
Provincial data on substance use deaths shows that the proportion of people dying of opioid poisoning in public spaces sharply increased in the second quarter of 2023.
Between 2018 and quarter one of 2023, the proportion of fatal opioid poisonings that happened in public ranged from as low as seven per cent to a high of 27 per cent in the third quarter of 2021.
It was back down to 23 per cent in the first quarter of 2023, but rose to 38 per cent in the second quarter — nearly matching the 40 per cent of deaths that happened in the deceased person's private residence, which has typically been where the majority of opioid deaths occur.
'Trying to make a difference'
Looking at the photos of the dead, Shanell Twan sees people she attended elementary school with, family friends and neighbours, and clients she worked with as a staff member at Boyle Street.
"The reality is that we're in the midst of a toxic drug poisoning crisis," said Twan, who is also an advocate with the Canadian Association of People Who Use Drugs and the Alberta Alliance Who Educates and Advocates Responsibly.
The UCP government has increasingly moved toward a recovery-oriented model, and away from harm reduction measures — investing millions in opening recovery communities, while the numbers of supervised consumption sites in the province has declined.
Twan said the most direct way to save lives would be to increase access to safe consumption sites and to create a safe, alternative supply so that people don't take drugs that been tainted with fentanyl and other illicit substances.
"We're all out here trying to make a difference. But real difference, real action could come from the government and that would be in line with supervised consumption sites that provide for inhalation, safe supply," she said.
She said advocates, front-line workers and grassroots organizations are doing everything they can to try to help people, but it's not enough.
In the speech from the throne Monday, the province indicated it plans to move ahead with the creation of additional recovery communities, and legislation that could be used to force people into recovery treatment against their will.
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