Downtown Eastside overdose prevention workers continue to save lives on Christmas Day

FILE: Trey Helten, a manager at Vancouver's Overdose Prevention Society is shown in this photograph.

Overdose prevention workers on Vancouver's Downtown Eastside continued their life-saving work on the frontlines of British Columbia's toxic drug crisis on Christmas day.

"Staff just saved a family from the most devastating call any parent could get on Christmas," Trey Helten with the Overdose Prevention Society said in a social media post.

Workers found a man on the sidewalk "seconds away from his heart stopping," Helten continued. After receiving three doses of Naloxone and being rolled onto his side to save him from asphyxiating on his own vomit, and he was taken to the hospital where he said the last thing he remembered was taking a hit of what he thought was crack.

The incident – like so many thousands of others – underscores how dangerous and poisoned the illicit drug supply has become.

"You're not getting what you think you're getting and you can't trust people and it's important to get your drugs tested," Helten told CTV News in an interview.

Earlier this month, the BC Coroners Service said the number of deaths from toxic drugs in 2023 is expected to be even higher than the already record-breaking number initially predicted. In the seven weeks prior to a Dec. 13 bulletin from the service, the average number of deaths each day had risen to seven.

"Unregulated drug deaths in the winter months have historically increased over the numbers reported during the rest of the year," the statement said.

"Please do not use drugs alone. It is critically important that people take advantage of every available support to keep themselves safe."

Harm reduction advocate Guy Felicella also reflected on how someone stopping to help him out one Christmas when he was living on the streets of the Downtown Eastside played a role in changing his life 11 years ago. A woman – who he is hoping to track down and thank – gave him a coffee, a hug and $50.

"For me, that moment just really kind of gave me the ability to keep fighting and believe that, you know, somebody believed in me — even when (she) saw me in the street, (she) didn't judge me," he told CTV News.

Now 11 years clean and sober, Felicella hit the streets to pay some of that kindness forward on Christmas, handing out coffees, hugs and cash to try to give people some comfort and hope on the holiday.

This year saw the first Metro Vancouver homeless count in the region since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. It found 4,821 people who had no place to live in the region – a 32 per cent increase since 2020.

The number of homeless people who are dying has also continued to rise sharply, according to the coroner's service.

Beyond stepping in and trying to help individuals how and when they can, both Helten and Felicella are advocates for broad, systemic change in the province – including access to a safe supply of drugs, better addiction and recovery services, and affordable, accessible and safe housing.

With files from CTV News Vancouver's Martin MacMahon

This year saw the first Metro Vancouver homeless count in the region since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. It found 4,821 people who had no place to live in the region – a 32 per cent increase since 2020.

The number of homeless people who are dying has also continued to rise sharply, according to the coroner's service.

Beyond stepping in and trying to help individuals how and when they can, both Helten and Felicella are advocates for broad, systemic change in the province – including access to a safe supply of drugs, better addiction and recovery services, and affordable, accessible and safe housing.

With files from CTV News Vancouver's Martin MacMahon