People are staying homeless for longer than ever before in Clark County — experts say fentanyl is a factor

It was during cleanup of an encampment in east Vancouver two years ago that the city’s homeless response manager realized a dangerous shift had occurred.

People at the camp were acting strangely, refusing to cooperate with outreach staff as they normally would, Jamie Spinelli recalled. The mess was beyond the usual found at encampments — it was layer upon layer of mush and trash. Burned foil, a sign of fentanyl use, was everywhere.

“I thought, ‘Oh, this is a big problem. It’s not going away,’” Spinelli recalled. “Nearly everyone in that camp — it’s like they weren’t even aware of how bad the conditions were that they were living in. … Because of fentanyl, all of those basic needs have been replaced with acquiring and using.”