Thank you. I'll try to keep it to five minutes, since you'll make me, anyway.
I want to acknowledge that I come from the traditional territories of the peoples of the Treaty No. 7 region here in Calgary, in the Métis Nation of Alberta Region 3.
I'd also like to acknowledge that I'm a person with lived experience as well as a physician. On April 10, 2023, I lost my brother to addiction. He was found in his bathroom, dead on the floor. On September 2, 2021, I lost my best friend Tom to addiction. He was found in his kitchen, alone. On April 3, 2021, I lost one of my best childhood friends, Brent, to addiction. He was found in the basement of a house after a party.
That's why I'm here. I think we all know why we're here. It's because we're losing people every day; the last count was in the twenties. These are preventable losses of life. We are all here to try to figure something out, together.
I want to make sure we distinguish addiction from people who use drugs. We all use drugs. I'm currently drinking a coffee. Human civilization has been well known to use drugs. I am here because I'm a specialist in addiction, not a specialist in people who use drugs. Addiction is a disease. Nora Volkow and so many of us have been advocating for this model for many years. It is a disease of the brain, no different from Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia, depression and anxiety. It is a disease and should be treated as such, with appropriate health measures.
Many of our most vulnerable are affected more by this disease. Right now, we're seeing a shift in Alberta where, as we ramp up treatment, we see more and more loss among those who are living without a home. Now the majority of deaths are occurring on the street, rather than in private residences and other areas. We have to acknowledge that our most vulnerable are often people living without shelter. This represents thousands and thousands of people across our country.
When we start looking at those individuals, we understand that about half have a lifetime prevalence of traumatic brain injury, and about one in four or one in five has a moderate to severe brain injury that would normally require someone living in a home with additional supports. These individuals are resilient enough to be surviving on our streets. There's a massive increase in substance use disorders, chronic pain and mental illness among individuals living without a home, especially those who are unsheltered and not able to get into shelters. In recent B.C. data, two out of every three report significant and severe mental health concerns.
We know these individuals need our support. We know they need help. As with any health disorder, the fact that anybody is debating whether or not we should treat it is not only shocking but also discriminatory, racist and stigmatizing. We would never debate whether or not we'll treat someone's cancer or heart disease, but we will debate whether or not we'll treat somebody's addiction.
When we look at the best evidence for reducing death among those with an opioid use disorder, the data is pretty clear: It's medications for opioid use disorder. Those medications include buprenorphine and methadone. In a study done in 2020 out of Boston—one of the meccas—we saw a 90% reduction in death by adding medication for opioid use disorder in treatment. We know we can reduce overdoses by over 90% with molecules such as buprenorphine. We know we can reduce hospitalizations even more.
If there is one thing I can bring to you today, it is that we need access to treatment for all Canadians, rather than stigmatizing and believing these individuals don't deserve it. Like all of us, they deserve the best health care we can possibly provide.
I could go on for hours, but I will pause there to keep within my five minutes and pass it on.