Advocates call for change after overdose death of man who tried to get detox five times

WINNIPEG -

The family of a man who died of a fentanyl overdose is calling for action after he tried to reach detox services several times unsuccessfully.

Lee Earnshaw – a husband, father, and former commercial fisherman – was 42-years-old when he died from an overdose in June.

"Lee was a friend to everyone. A storyteller. He was one of the kindest people that I've ever known. He loved animals, his family," recalled Carol Packer, Earnshaw's older sister.

Originally from B.C., Earnshaw was living on the streets of Winnipeg at the time of his death.

According to St. Boniface Street Links (SBSL), which was in contact with him twice a day, Earnshaw tried to get admitted to a detox facility five times in the last year, including three times at a Rapid Access to Addictions Medicine clinic.

CHRONICLING CALLS FOR HELP

Earnshaw's attempts to get help are outlined in a letter to the province's Chief Medical Examiner on Wednesday, calling for an inquest into Earnshaw's death.

The letter said Earnshaw first tried to get help at Main Street Project in December 2020.

A case manager at Main Street Project, which does detox, said there were seven open beds at the facility, but they were not available to Earnshaw as they were designated for use by clients of the RAAM clinics only.

On March 11, 2021, St. Boniface Street Links took Earnshaw to the RAAM clinic in an attempt to speed up the process of getting him into detox. The SBSL team was told there were no detox beds but that Earnshaw could be placed on a waitlist and asked to return on March 15 to be given suboxone.

The letter states Earnshaw did not keep the March 15 appointment because he was "deep into using fentanyl."

On April 10, the SBSL team picked Earnshaw up after calling Main Street Project to secure a bed in advance.

Main Street Project said they could not put Earnshaw in a detox bed because they require RAAM assessment and approval for opioid users. RAAM clinics were not open since it was a weekend.

Later in April, Earnshaw was taken by the SBSL Outreach team to the RAAM clinic. After waiting a while, a RAAM worker tells Earnshaw and the team that the clinic has reached the maximum they will see for that day.

On May 6, Earnshaw went to Morberg House hoping that, with the support of the Morberg House clinical team, he could achieve the minimum of 24 hours of no use of opioids (RAAM requirement). After the 24 hour period, he would be taken to the RAAM clinic to get into a methadone program and into the Main Street Project for a detox bed.

During the stay at Morberg House, Earnshaw became violently ill and calls were made to the Health Sciences Centre. The hospital said it would be an hours-long wait to be seen. At this point, Earnshaw couldn’t wait and left to go use fentanyl.

On June 14, paramedics were called to a homeless encampment on Higgins Avenue and Main Street where Lee Earnshaw was found dead.

CALLS FOR CHANGE

Marion Willis, the founder and executive director of St. Boniface Street Links, said an inquest into Earnshaw's death would show the gaps and deficiencies in the current system.

"Services have to be available to that person when they are seeking help and anything short of that is a recipe for disaster," she said.

Willis said Earnshaw's death isn't the failings of a certain facility, but of the entire system.

"It's a system that is screening people out rather than screening people in. It's because there isn't a well-developed strategy," said Willis.

Willis believes the province needs to meet with people battling addictions and the boots-on-the-ground organizations helping them.

A statement to CTV News from Mental Health, Wellness and Recovery Minister Audrey Gordon said in part:

"Our government is committed to creating more withdrawal management beds and residential treatment programs in Manitoba. We have recently made an $819,000 investment to add capacity to two rapid access addictions medicine (RAAM) clinics in Winnipeg. The RAAM clinics give people timely access to the care they need, all in one place, without a referral or appointment, and they remove the barriers that prevent people from accessing care."

"We understand that there is more work to be done. As a result, the department of mental health, wellness and recovery will be creating an action plan to help enhance mental health, wellness and addictions services in Manitoba."

As for Earnshaw's family, they want to see changes like immediate hospital care for people looking for addictions help happen as soon as possible.

"When you tell the story about what happened and the challenges he faced and being turned away, the obvious question that so many other people and I had is why didn't they take him to the hospital? Why is that not an option?" said Packer.

"To quote what Lee had said, 'the sooner they start doing something about it, the better.' It's absolutely right. The situation is going to get worse if we don't do something soon."