Homeless man dies after alleged overdose at Halifax encampment

A man died from an alleged overdose outside a tent just steps from Halifax’s city hall on Friday.

A man died from an alleged overdose outside a tent just steps from Halifax’s city hall on Friday.

Volunteers at Grand Parade say the man was on the ground unresponsive. When they saw him, they tried to administer CPR.

“The paramedics came, police came, and the fire department, in order to provide assistance. They then had the individual on the gurney and they took (him) to the hospital,” Stephen Wilsack, one of the volunteers helping people living in the encampment at Grand Parade.

The community there has not seen the homeless man since.

Friends say that they were told the man died.

“(He) was a friend. (He’d) pick you up when you fell down,” says Michael Inbery through tears. “He was a very humble guy (and) always out willing to give and care for other people. He was homeless and he was suffering.”

The man who allegedly overdosed was temporarily staying in the Grand Parade encampment but lived in Victoria Park. One of his close friends overdosed just days ago, and people who knew him say he saved that friend’s life.