Law students and members of the University of Victoria’s Poverty Law Club have asked the regional coroner to conduct an investigation
Members of the University of Victoria’s Poverty Law Club have drawn public and media attention to thirty deaths among Victoria’s homeless people. The deaths occurred over a four month period during the summer of 2012 and the number of deaths is three times higher than in previous years, according to Don Evans, executive director of Our Place Society. Evans told the Times Colonist that most of those who died were in their 40s, adding that without proper shelter, nutrition or medical care, infections and diseases thrive.
Now the Poverty Law group is asking for a coroner’s inquest into the deaths [opens to PDF]. According to Yianni Pappas-Acreman, a spokesperson for the group, “The deaths occurred in several different ways, but the root cause is poverty.” Many of the deaths were not reported to the Coroners Service because they were due to natural causes.
Mr. Evans told the Globe and Mail that causes of death among the thirty homeless individuals ranged from pneumonia and infection to accidents, suicide and murder. He also pointed out that a lack of resources and the steep cost of living are major impediments to alleviating homelessness in Victoria.
An editorial in the Times Colonist stated: “It is obvious that homeless people are at greater risk of death from illness, exposure and other factors, and many of the 30 deaths were from natural causes. But that is a heavy toll in a community estimated to number about 1,500 at any time.”
A spokesperson for the Coroner’s Service said that the regional coroner is reviewing files related to the request.
We speak with Mikaela Robertson, president of the Poverty Law Club at University of Victoria.
RELATED | Times Colonist: Surge in deaths reported among Victoria’s homeless (Sept. 27, 2012) | Vancouver Sun: Deaths of more than 30 homeless in Victoria prompt call for coroner’s inquest (Feb. 27, 2013) | Editorial (Times Colonist): Don’t dismiss 30 deaths (Feb. 28, 2013) | Letter to Mr. Matt Brown, Regional Coroner, from Mikaela Robertson, president of the University of Victoria’s Poverty Law Club (Jan. 12, 2013) |
