'Deeply ashamed': Body sat for 11 days after overdose death in 'first-of-it's kind' supportive housing complex

When Diane Chandler recovered a portion successful Surrey's Foxglove supportive lodging gathering successful 2023, the main happening her children hoped for was safety.

The 60-year-old had spent years battling slump and addiction, surviving connected disablement payments arsenic she moved betwixt impermanent shelters and her car.

And the Foxglove — a multi-use gathering designed to location radical surviving with analyzable intelligence wellness and substance usage problems — came praised by municipal, provincial and national politicians, including erstwhile Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum and B.C. Premier David Eby.

But nary of those protections would prevention Chandler, who died from an overdose of cocaine, methamphetamine and fentanyl successful her country successful the Foxglove astir a twelvemonth ago.

Adding to the symptom of their mother's loss, Chandler's children accidental they discovered weeks aft she died that her assemblage wasn't recovered for 11 days — overlooked successful what the CBC has learned was a lawsuit of mistaken identity.

"I conscionable hoped that she was safe," Chandler's son, Tyler Gibbs, told the CBC.

"If she was struggling with something, there'd be idiosyncratic to assistance her. Just to speech with her and assistance her retired with that. I deliberation the main happening for maine is conscionable making definite it was a harmless place, is what it is for me. That was what was astir important — that it's safe."

'It makes her beingness look worthless'

Diane Chandler's decease is 1 of 8 Foxglove overdose deaths described successful captious incident reports sent to B.C. Housing obtained by CBC done state of information.

Beyond the shocking revelations regarding the hold successful uncovering Chandler's body, the documents item the lodging agency's interest that the deaths mightiness marque their mode into the media.

Chandler's household accidental the calamity besides raises important but thorny questions arsenic to when a permissive approach to housing the astir susceptible radical successful B.C. communities borders connected enabling addiction.

Although a manager with RainCity Housing and Support Society — the nonprofit enactment which operates the Foxglove — told Tyler Gibbs in an email that the bureau was "deeply ashamed" by what happened, Gibbs and his sister accidental B.C. Housing has ne'er reached retired to them.

Carley Gibbs says her mother — a Canucks instrumentality who was devoted to her children — deserved better.

"It makes her beingness look worthless. People who person intelligence wellness problems and who person cause addiction are not worthless," the 29-year-old said successful an interview.

"And the mode that our systems enactment them into these housings and conscionable fto them unrecorded is not however radical get better. People request enactment and counselling, and progressive support, not conscionable a extortion implicit their heads. Just due to the fact that they're successful the gathering doesn't mean that they're safe."

'Supportive lodging works'

B.C. Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon offered his condolences to the household aft CBC contacted the ministry astir Chandler's lawsuit and the deaths astatine Foxglove.

He suggested recent changes to the province's residential tenancy regulations volition guarantee greater information for residents by allowing supportive attraction unit to execute wellness checks by entering suites without permission.

But helium besides said the analyzable quality of problems that onshore radical in buildings similar the Foxglove means they volition often beryllium much susceptible to ignoring rules and dying down closed doors.

"Supportive lodging works, it's not a question of whether it works oregon not," Kahlon said.

"The situation for america is that with toxic cause supply, with intelligence health, with addiction, the request for radical to usage continues to beryllium there. The situation is not whether it's the lodging oregon not, the situation is the intelligence unwellness and addiction that we're each trying to grapple with."

Eby was lodging curate erstwhile helium celebrated the Foxglove's opening alongside McCallum and Surrey Centre Liberal MP Randeep Sarai, announcing $5 cardinal successful national funding, $25 cardinal from the state and an yearly operating outgo of $3.2 million.

"Foxglove is 1 of the archetypal complex-care sites to unfastened arsenic portion of the province's first-of-its-kind lodging program," said a quality merchandise astatine the time, detailing a concern betwixt RainCity, B.C. Housing and Fraser Health to provide enhanced enactment and counselling.

In summation to nurses, societal workers and adjacent workers, the building's 100 homes and 30 exigency structure spaces offer overdose prevention services, cooking and repast supports, psychiatric attraction and betterment coaching.

'Might beryllium immoderate media involvement '

According to the documents obtained by CBC, the Foxglove's first overdose decease occurred a small much than 3 weeks aboriginal — connected May 17, 2022.

The adjacent decease occurred astir 12 a.m. connected May 27.

After the 2nd death, a B.C. Housing worker sent colleagues a transcript of a captious incidental report, informing determination "might beryllium immoderate media involvement owed to the newness of the building, complex care relation and the different Foxglove OD a mates of weeks ago."

But the questions ne'er came.

The documents returned to CBC done state of information don't see reports for 2023, though a abstracted FOI issued to a backstage idiosyncratic earlier this twelvemonth indicates that determination were 3 suspected overdose deaths that year.

As 2024 began, the FOI documents say separate overdose deaths occurred astatine the Foxglove connected March 23 and 24.

Less than a period later, connected April 20th, 2024, Chandler was last seen alive — according to a coroner's report — "by mode of CCTV cameras astatine the lodging complex."

'I was besides truly scared'

Carley Gibbs says she was "excited" to larn her parent had recovered a imperishable location astatine the Foxglove aft leaving different structure wherever she felt unsafe.

She visited Chandler successful her room, which was papered with the colouring books she loved to fill. Her parent seemed happy, but Carley had misgivings.

She says she saw signs of unfastened cause usage everywhere.

Fighting backmost tears, Carley told CBC she had often tried to speech to her parent astir going into rehab, but "she didn't deliberation she had a problem, truthful I had to beryllium blessed for her."

"But I was besides truly frightened that I would suffer her," she said.

"Because I knew that the installation she was going into was wholly surrounded by different radical who were successful a akin situation. And I was truly frightened that being astir each those radical would make a toxic environment. That portion did truly interest me."

'The household is rather upset'

After Chandler was caught connected camera connected April 20, B.C. Housing documents accidental Foxglove unit "signed disconnected connected visually seeing" her connected 2 much occasions — April 26 and April 28 —  "when, successful fact, it was idiosyncratic who looked similar."

"Staff did a country cheque connected the deceased's suite May 1," a statement of the incidental reads.

"Staff knocked and entered the tenant's country due to the fact that determination was nary answer. The lawsuit was recovered deceased."

The documents accidental unit followed up with a wellness cheque connected the pistillate whom they had mistaken for Chandler — she was besides discovered deceased, different evident overdose.

The coroner's study says that when Chandler's assemblage was yet discovered, she was sitting successful a chair. There was nary motion of foul play, and cause pipes were discovered nearby.

"The household is rather upset and whitethorn escalate the situation, including imaginable media," the B.C. Housing documents say.

"There has been an contented with casual unit who are little acquainted with the residents' names and faces. They person been instructed not to motion disconnected connected wellness checks unless they are definite of a person's identity."

'We did not instrumentality this oversight lightly'

Tyler Gibbs says his uncle told him Chandler died aft helium was contacted by RCMP.

But the 33-year-old says the household was initially led to judge she died adjacent to the time her assemblage was recovered connected May 1, 2024.

They didn't larn astir the hold successful uncovering Chandler's assemblage until she was cremated, erstwhile they were told the coroner believed Chandler had died connected April 20 — 11 days earlier. 

Gibbs says helium asked Foxglove for an explanation. He shared the effect from Foxglove programme manager Charles Jones.

"I volition beryllium candid with you astir an unfortunate oversight connected our part. A unit subordinate was mistakenly identifying Diane arsenic different resident, which led to her being incorrectly marked disconnected arsenic seen connected our information checklist," Jones wrote.

"We did not instrumentality this oversight lightly and consciousness profoundly ashamed. We are committed to the information and dignity of each our residents and sincerely regret that this concern occurred. Please judge our heartfelt apology for the oversight and immoderate distress oregon uncertainty it has caused."

'There are radical successful determination who matter'

A twelvemonth aft Chandler's death, some children say they are inactive struggling with grief, compounded by the outstanding questions implicit accountability.

"It was heartbreaking to spell done that. Whether that's a parent oregon begetter oregon immoderate household member, losing idiosyncratic to a cause overdose, it hurts. It sucks. And proceeding that they could person been amended astatine preventing it, proceeding much details astir it," said Tyler Gibbs

"Hopefully, they'll larn from this."

Carley Gibbs says it's important for her to marque Chandler's "life and dependable known. She tried her best."

"There are radical successful determination who matter. They came from somewhere," she said.

"They request to consciousness supported — and without that, they conscionable don't cognize what to do, which is simply a truly scary spot to beryllium in."

The past clip Carley Gibbs saw her parent live was a fewer months earlier for a day solemnisation at Troll's successful Horseshoe Bay, a cherished spot wherever Chandler went with her household arsenic a kid.

"It was conscionable specified an honorable experience," Gibbs said.

"She didn't look similar she, successful a period oregon two, she wouldn't beryllium present anymore. It's hard to look backmost connected that present due to the fact that it was specified a blessed time. But I'm truthful gladsome that I person that memory."