Photo of pigeon’s nest in bed of needles shows ‘sad reality’ of Vancouver’s opioid crisis

It’s an image that speaks to the “sad reality of the opioid crisis” gripping one of Vancouver’s most at-risk neighbourhoods.

Captured by the Vancouver Police Department’s Homeless Outreach coordinator in a Downtown Eastside (DTES) single room occupancy building, the photo shows a pigeon’s nest made out of needles.

READ MORE: Memorial wall for overdose victims erected on DTES

VPD Supt. Michelle Davey snapped the stark picture on Tuesday along with the hashtag #notstaged.

If it appears to be shocking, it was meant to.

According to VPD spokesperson Staff Sgt. Randy Fincham, the picture was shared with the public “to show the reality of drug use in the Downtown Eastside and to provide a rare glimpse into the lives of first responders, health care providers and others involved in the opioid crisis.”

Sadly, overdose calls in the DTES are surging.

1:33 Troubling numbers in B.C.’s overdose fight

• Troubling numbers in B.C.’s overdose fight
• Misconception that drug overdose crisis is ‘someone else’s problem’
• B.C. overdose crisis: 2016 deadliest year on record
• Overdose deaths and organ transplants
• B.C. overdose crisis: The escalation
• Why are so many people still dying from illicit drug overdoses?
• Two Victoria High school students die of opioid overdoses
• Latest overdose numbers show crisis hasn’t slowed down
• Impact of overdoses in Vancouver on first responders
• Suspected overdose behind the wheel caught on camera
• Fentanyl overdose side effects are worse than imagined
• New safe injection site opens in Victoria to help combat the growing overdose crisis

Previous Video

Next Video

On April 1, Vancouver Police sounded the alarm after a dozen suspected overdoses occurred around Columbia and Gore streets before noon. The spike in overdoses came after Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services reported 162 overdose calls the week before, a jump of 56 per cent.

READ MORE: Overdose calls becoming increasingly more common

Last week the B.C. Emergency Health Services said the opioid crisis had reached a new level with April 26 registering as the worst day on record for overdoses in the province. The day had the most overdose calls ever recorded with 130 calls in total, nine more than the previous record date of Nov. 20, 2016.

According to authorities, there were 62 overdose calls in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 38 calls in Fraser Health, and 18 calls for both the Interior and Island Health regions.

This recent data comes after the City of Vancouver reported 169 overdose response calls for the week of April 17 to 23, an increase of 29 per cent over the week before. There were eight overdose deaths in the city that week, moving the 2017 total to 126 deaths.

Looking further into the stats, Vancouver is already on pace to double the number of overdose deaths seen in 2016. So far this year, there have been over 100 drug-related deaths, compared to 215 in all of 2016.

Fincham said he hopes the image will help “start a conversation about harm reduction efforts by first responders, and the need for treatment options for substance abuse users.”

~ with files from Jill Slattery