The father of a man who died of an overdose at a New Westminster supportive housing facility last month is demanding answers.
Joshua Soestmeyer died at the Cliff Block, a 16-room facility, on July 22 — but was apparently dead for days before anyone realized.
His father, Erick Soestmeyer, said the 28-year-old suffered from schizophrenia and had turned to drugs as a way of self-medicating.
“Most of the time he was very kind and loving. But then there was another personality. That’s where schizophrenia comes in. That’s not the personality you want to walk in on,” he said.
“He needed help, he needed real help.”
Joshua had checked into the Cliff House in an attempt to manage his addiction, his father said.
Erick told Global News he went to the facility to visit his son on July 22, but was unable to see him.
He returned several times in the days that followed, but each time was unable to make contact with his son.
The Lookout Society, which operates the facility, reported Joshua was last seen outside his room on July 22. Staff performed a wellness check on July 25, and believed he was sleeping and verbally responsive.
He was found dead the following day.
“They went upstairs and the guy came down and said, ‘We see his feet so he must be sleeping,'” Erick said.
“I was so worried, I didn’t know what the heck was going on because that’s now four days.”
Erick got a call from the coroner on July 27, who told him his son had actually died five days earlier.
“That was the most difficult thing I’ve ever gone through in my life,” he said.
“They shouldn’t have left him alone, especially in a room full of drug stuff. There was meth pipes all over. There was needles all over.”
According to Erick, an autopsy report determined Joshua had died on July 22, the first day he tried to visit his son.
The Lookout Society did not respond to an interview request, but issued a statement saying it was “heartbroken” over the death.
“An investigation was done on our team’s actions and the event was assessed to have been handled within our policies,” the organization said.
But the death highlights what advocates say is a dire lack of resources and training for working with people with severe mental illness and addiction problems.
“Overall, there is not sufficient housing for folks that are in that situation,” said Bonnie Spence-Vinge, the B.C. Schizophrenia Society’s interior regional manager.
“They require trained staff, they require safe accommodation, they require treatment planning, they require family involvement, and we just don’t have enough of those resources anywhere in the province, regardless of what community you might go to. We have other agencies like shelters that try to pick up the slack.”
B.C.’s Opposition party said the case highlights cracks in the NDP government’s approach to mental health and addictions.
“This is an absolute failure to provide those supports. People are putting loved ones’ lives in the hands of this government,” BC United mental health and addictions critic Elenore Sturko said.
NDP Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon told Global News he had directed BC Housing, which contracts the Lookout Society, to investigate what went wrong in Joshua’s case.
“The family deserves to find out exactly what happened, and that’s why I have directed BC Housing to get to the bottom of what the family is saying and what the difference is between that and what the Lookout Society is saying,” he said in an interview.
“We are doing our best to make sure those supports are available. We clearly have more work to do and we commit to continue to do that work.”
Kahlon could not provide a timeline for the investigation.
Erick, meanwhile, said changes are needed now to prevent other families from going through what he did.
“I don’t want anybody to suffer like that. Where are the bed checks, please? Where’s the help?” he said.
“I expect that anybody that’s in that building in the Cliff Block or any one of those buildings — those people deserve to be checked on. They deserve to know. You have to (have) safety. There are rules. Let’s just step it up.”
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