770 people died of overdoses in Edmonton last year, advocates push for treatment access

Edmonton marked International Overdose Awareness Day on Monday, August 31, with advocates raising concerns about the deaths occurring in private homes — a pattern that stigma around substance use is making harder to reverse.

The provincial data shows 770 people died of drug poisonings in Edmonton in 2025, the worst year on record for the city. Many of those deaths happen alone, behind closed doors, where no one can administer naloxone in time.

Patrick Black, a nurse and manager of Boyle Street Community Services' overdose prevention team, said the stigma keeps people from calling for help. "Often people are afraid to call 911," Black said. "They're worried a cop car or fire truck is going to show up in front of their apartment building or their house, and alert all their neighbours something's going on."

Kristopher Daniel Pinnell, who survived a cocaine overdose in his own home in 2024, credits having someone there who knew CPR with saving his life. "I was lucky to have somebody there that knew CPR, otherwise we would not be talking," Pinnell said. He is now on a waitlist for treatment after losing access to Edmonton's Henwood Treatment Centre, which suspended operations this summer following flood damage. The centre's closure has left him uncertain about where his next treatment will come from.

Alongside Boyle Street Community Services, organizations including HIV Edmonton and the Queer and Trans Health Collective marked the day at Sir Winston Churchill Square, providing naloxone demonstrations and information.

The city has not released details on the reopening timeline for Henwood or the current patient census at other treatment facilities.