At least 458 people experiencing homelessness died in British Columbia in 2023, according to data from the B.C. Coroners Service.
This reflects an increase of 23 per cent from 2022 (373) and is nearly three times the number of people who died while experiencing homelessness in the province in 2020 (155).
Fraser Health recorded the highest number of deaths at 117, followed by Island Health with 114.
Deaths in the Interior Health region accounted for 19 percent of the provincial total, with 86—five of which occurred in the East Kootenays and six in the Kootenay Boundary.
Unlike many other regions in B.C., deaths in the Kootenay area declined slightly from 2022, when there were seven deaths recorded in both the East Kootenays and Kootenay Boundary, for a total of 14.
More than half of the deaths reported in 2023 were among people between the ages of 30 and 49, and 79 per cent of decedents were male. The data also show that nearly half of those deaths were among males who were unsheltered (47 per cent).
In 2023, 91 per cent of deaths of people experiencing homelessness were classified as accidental (419), and 86 per cent were due to accidental unregulated drug toxicity (394).
Most of these deaths occurred in the winter (28 per cent), followed by spring (27 per cent). The month of December saw the most deaths, with 53.
You can read the full report here.
