Overdoses on the rise
More people are opting to carry naloxone kits as fatal drug overdoses are on the rise. Last year, 175 people died in Montreal from overdoses.
Statistics also show that 3 out of 4 overdose deaths here occur inside the home and not down a dark alley as usually imagined. And only 9% happen to the homeless.
Also challenging received ideas about the homeless, a recent study showed that homeless people in Canada given a sum of $7500 spent most of it on housing and food, not booze, smokes or drugs.
Ephraim 10:19 on 2023-08-31 Permalink
You would think that someone would come up with a system to provide housing and food the same way that they do for independent senior residences. You pay a certain amount, but the government subsidizes it as long as you have a basket of services that includes at least one meal a day. Independent companies have built these buildings specifically for these services. You would think they could do this more like a rooming house and offer stability
Orr 13:19 on 2023-08-31 Permalink
175 people dying out of 1,255 total overdoses in Montreal area in 2022. It’s a lot, and it is somewhat preventable.
In BC by comparison, 6 deaths per day.
No wonder Canada’s chiefs of police are calling for decriminalization.
walkerp 13:53 on 2023-08-31 Permalink
It’s one more statistic demonstrating how disproportionate the police budget is compared to actual needs in this city. 175 ODs vs 30ish homicides and yet we need to give more money to the police to combat the scourge of gun violence that is destroying Montreal.
Chris 12:12 on 2023-09-02 Permalink
That study with the $7500 seems to have some serious flaws, like in how they selected who’d get money. They excluded the long-term homeless, drug and alcohol abusers, and the mentally ill.
It looks more like they wanted to show a conclusion, and made a study to fit.