VANCOUVER 鈥� New data from the BC Coroners Service says at least 458 people experiencing homelessness in the province died in 2023, with the toll almost tripling in just three years.
The service said in a news release Friday there's been a 23 per cent increase from the 373 recorded deaths of unhoused people the year before.
Nick Wells, spokesman for the Union Gospel Mission in Vancouver, said he was "devastated" by the news, calling the deaths "preventable."
"It's just a tragedy that we're seeing this many people die," he said in an interview Friday. "One death is unacceptable, let alone 458."
Wells said the number of homeless people in Vancouver is increasing, noting that in 2023, the Homelessness Services Association of B.C. saw a 32 per cent increase in its homeless count.
"We're about to do that count again this year, and we're expecting that number to rise even more," he said, noting that its shelters are often full year-round.
Wells said research done by the charity has shown that people who are unhoused "deal with a suppressed and weakened immune system as a result of the extreme and often concurrent crises they're trying to overcome." That, he noted, includes the toxic drug crisis.
The coroner's report found 91 per cent of the 2023 deaths were classified as accidental, including 86 per cent due to drug toxicity.
The data show 79 per cent of those who died were male, while more than half were between the ages of 30 and 49.
Chief Coroner Dr. Jatinder Baidwan said in the news release that the numbers speak to the "tragic reality of the struggles many face in our communities throughout B.C."
The death toll is up by 195 per cent from the 155 people who died in 2020.
"During the period studied, between 2016 and 2023, the deaths of 1,940 people were reported to the BC Coroners Service, identified as experiencing homelessness," Baidwan said.
The coroners service defines a person experiencing homelessness as someone living outdoors or in a car, or in emergency, temporary or short-term shelter.
Its report said 28 per cent of deaths among the unhoused in 2023 happened in winter, and 27 per cent in spring. It noted that 26 per cent happened in the Fraser Health Authority, while 25 per cent occurred in the Island Health region.
The data was released the same day that the provincial and federal governments announced they had signed an agreement to contribute $39.9 million each over two years to help support unhoused people.
A news release from B.C.'s housing ministry on Friday said the funding will be made available in Vancouver, Abbotsford and Kamloops.
Wells said any increase in funding and housing opportunities for the community is always welcome.
"We know that without housing, without safety, without knowing that you have somewhere to put your head at night, the number of people experiencing homelessness that we're going to see dying before their time will only increase," he said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 7, 2025.
Brieanna Charlebois, The Canadian Press
