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

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.

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 wit 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 three doses of Naloxone and 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.