THUNDER BAY — The city and surrounding areas saw a large spike last year in the reported number of people who died from an opioid overdose while homeless, data shows.
According to information provided by the Thunder Bay District Health Unit to researchers who compiled a community report on the most recent homelessness point-in-time count, 31 people died from opioid overdoses while experiencing homelessness in 2024 in the health unit’s catchment area. In total, the region saw 86 deaths that year due to opioid poisoning, according to data from the Ontario Office of the Chief Coroner.
“The important thing that we always want to remember with this information is the people who are experiencing homelessness are disproportionately impacted by substance use,” said Adena Miller, an epidemiologist with the health unit.
“But that doesn't mean that all people experiencing homelessness use substances, and that's something that we want to be careful with whenever we're talking about this information,” she continued.
“We don't want to make conclusions like that based on the numbers, and also, not all people who use substances are homeless.”
In 2022, of the 85 opioid overdose deaths counted in the health unit’s catchment area by the Chief Coroner’s office, the point-in-time count report said 17 of those people were experiencing homelessness. In 2023, eight people who died from an opioid overdose were without a home; that year, the region saw 84 deaths total.
The city had the highest rate of deaths by opioid poisoning again in 2024.
“It's more than just a number,” Miller said. “It's people who had loved ones and were part of a community that needs support, so I think one of the reasons why this information is included within this report is it's a way of showing that this is a crisis and that it's a severe problem in our community.”
“We need to work together to address this issue along with everything else that's provided in the full point-in-time count report.”
Experts have called for more support and resources for addictions recovery.
As to why the reported number spiked in 2024, Miller said it’s difficult to explain, but public health has some theories.
“Every time we get new data provided to us on opioid-related deaths, it seems like the proportion of deaths where fentanyl, or some form of fentanyl, was detected increases steadily every single time,” she said, adding that in 2024, 90 per cent of opioid overdose deaths in the Thunder Bay district were where fentanyl or one of its altered forms was detected.
That’s higher than the province-wide statistic of 83 per cent.
“This probably can be explained by an increased toxic and unregulated drug supply, and unpredictability of substances people are taking,” Miller continued. “Because fentanyl is detected in these deaths, it doesn't mean that that's what people are looking for.”
Kyle Arnold, the program coordinator at P.A.C.E. (People Advocating for Change through Empowerment) and Long Lake 58 First Nation’s community support worker specializing in addictions, told Newswatch more other dangerous additives are also increasingly showing up in street drugs in the city. Arnold, who also has extensive experience with drug testing, said those can include things like animal tranquilizers and cow de-worming medications, among a litany of other things.
That, he said, changes how overdoses look, including how Naloxone reacts.
Miller said, compounding that, is that people who are homeless are more likely to use alone, and may have less of a support network around them.
“Using alone obviously puts you at a much higher risk for an overdose and people aren't around to help provide Naloxone or call for help if you do experience an overdose,” she said.
This story is part of a special feature on opioid deaths in Thunder Bay and the region.
