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Vancouver's Downtown Eastside residents dying at eight times the national average

CBC News
Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, which is often associated with despair, poverty and addiction, now has a grim new claim to fame.
I lived in the Downtown Eastside for a short spell. Yes, the latter two do exist in prevailing amounts, but despair? Dunno.
I lived in poverty, too, there. The hardest thing to get was a good meal. Oh, food itself was plentiful, but good healthy food, not so much.
There's dozens, if not hundreds, of incredible volunteers, each working to make life even a little easier for the residents there.
As for the mortality rate, I'm not surprised. Vancouver's on a slope, and the drain is in the Downtown Eastside. Everything washes up there.
As for the study, good on UBC for undertaking it.
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