British Columbia continues to see an uptick in deaths among its homeless population, a trend that has taken off since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020.
A new report from the BC Coroners Service examines and summarizes deaths of individuals experiencing homelessness between Jan. 1, 2016, and Dec. 31, 2024.
It found that 507 people experiencing homelessness died in 2024, which marks the fifth straight year that number has increased since a 10-year low of 140 in 2019.
The biggest jumps have been from 157 to 303 in 2020-21 and 381 to 495 in 2023-24.
According to the report, deaths among unsheltered homeless individuals are typically the highest at nearly half of the total, with sheltered people accounting for around one-third of deaths and the rest being unknown.
The biggest outlier year for those numbers was in 2020 at the start of the pandemic when 57% of deaths were among unsheltered people compared to less than 30% who were sheltered.
Other consistent trends over the 10-year period are that more homeless people die during the winter and an overwhelming number of them are male.
Another alarming statistic shared by this report is that over three-quarters of deaths among the homeless population in 2024 were due to accidental illicit drug overdoses.
The bulk of the remainder were due to other accidental reasons or natural causes, while there were also 14 suicides.
To read the entire BC Coroners Service report, click this link.
Thumbnail photo courtesy of Interior Health.
