An great story about the challenges of poverty and homelessness in Greater Victoria.
Trudy Norman says the stigma of poverty takes a heavy toll among the homeless, among whom a death is most likely to be classified as accidental. Between 2007 and 2010, 53 per cent of the homeless deaths recorded by the B.C. Coroners service were deemed accidental, the majority overdoses. Another 12 per cent were suicides and 23 per cent were from natural causes or disease. In comparison, across all segments of society, 71 per cent of deaths reportable to B.C.’s coroner service were of natural causes in 2009.
Read the article: Life on the streets a vicious circle of poverty
Source: Times Colonist
Authors: Judith Lavoie and Sarah Petrescu
