Table 2 Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on essential needs among sampled people who use drugs across three Canadian cities, May 2020–March 2021 (N = 1,025)
Vancouver (N = 640) | Toronto (N = 158) | Montreal (N = 227) | |
|---|---|---|---|
Impact on living situation | |||
Change in living situation1, n (%) Yes No | 95 (15) 542 (85) | 69 (44) 89 (56) | 73 (32) 154 (68) |
Quality of new living situation2,3, n (%) Better Worse About the same Don’t know | 45 (49) 31 (33) 16 (17) 0 (0) | 30 (43) 24 (35) 11 (16) 3 (4) | 34 (47) 26 (36) 22 (15) 2 (1) |
Reason for new living situation2,4,5, n (%) Moved to be with family/partner Moved to be away from a vulnerable family member Moved to self-isolate Asked to leave by others Received new shelter or housing Could no longer afford rent Other | 8 (9) 1 (1) 3 (3) 4 (4) 20 (22) 2 (2) 58 (62) | 3 (4) 1 (1) 2 (3) 2 (3) 25 (36) 0 (0) 41 (59) | 4 (5) 1 (1) 10 (14) 9 (12) 5 (7) 7 (10) 38 (52) |
Impact on survival-related needs | |||
Became homeless6, n (%) Yes No | 16 (3) 622 (97) | 16 (10) 141 (89) | 42 (19) 185 (81) |
Change in going hungry7, n (%) Yes, more often than usual Yes, less than usual No, same as usual | 125 (20) 30 (5) 481 (76) | 64 (41) 25 (16) 60 (38) | 85 (38) 29 (13) 112 (49) |
Change in monthly income8, n (%) Yes, income has decreased Yes, income has increased No, income has not changed | 122 (19) 308 (48) 207 (33) | 63 (40) 61 (39) 31 (20) | 82 (36) 38 (17) 105 (46) |