530 DOLLARS for an Ambulance Ride IN BC

🚑 Crime Against Humanity: The Real Cost of a Broken System

$530 DOLLARS for an Ambulance Ride IN BC

By Tina Winterlik aka Zipolita

I hear sirens every day. Ambulances, police, fire trucks — a relentless loop echoing through the streets of Vancouver. I liam couchsurfing in Kitsilano right now, and for some reason, they all come here — parking at the beach, grabbing bagels, and then screaming up the road sirens blaring, flying the wrong way up the street when a call comes in. It’s chaos.

People think it's “normal” now, but it shouldn't be. Behind every siren is a human being in crisis. A heart attack. An overdose. A cry for help.

And in British Columbia? That ambulance ride costs $530 — even in an emergency.

Yes, you read that right.

If someone is having a heart attack or overdosing, they get billed — not the person who called 911, but the patient. Even if they’re on disability. Even if they’re unhoused. Even if they’re alone.

This is what “health care” looks like in a rich country.

💸 50 Detoxes = $335,000+

Recently, someone shared their incredible story on the DTES Forever Facebook page — 50 detox attempts, years lost to addiction, medical crises like pneumonia and endocarditis. They survived. They made it out. They’re nine years clean. It’s a beautiful story of resilience.

But it also reveals something devastating:
Just their detox and hospital care alone cost the system over $335,000.

And if their story took place today, with fentanyl flooding the street supply?
They probably wouldn’t have survived.

💊 Big Pharma Created This

How did we get here? Why are so many people coping with trauma by using substances?

• Because doctors overprescribed painkillers.
• Because Big Pharma lied about addiction risks and made billions.
• Because vulnerable people were never given support — just pills.

Now many of those same people live and die on the streets. And we criminalize them for trying to survive.

🏚️ No Housing. No Hope.

People aren't just “choosing drugs.” They're escaping pain — from abuse, poverty, racism, homelessness, and despair. And what do we give them?

• No safe housing
• No mental health care
• No trauma support
• No doctors willing to treat them with dignity
• A $530 bill if they collapse

It’s all backwards. We pay thousands for emergency care but refuse to invest in prevention.
We allow housing to sit empty while people sleep in tents.

🧠 The Human Cost

Let’s be clear:
This isn't just about ambulance bills or addiction. It's about a society that has normalized cruelty. It's about a government that punishes the poor and rewards the rich. It's about families shattered, lives lost, and communities ignored.

We need:

• Free ambulance rides for ALL emergencies
• Safe housing first
• Accountability for Big Pharma
• Trauma-informed health care
• Support, not punishment

💥 This Is a Crime Against Humanity

What we’re witnessing — in our streets, in our hospitals, in our shelters — is a slow-motion disaster. And we cannot stay silent. We cannot accept this as “just the way things are.”

We must demand better. For ourselves. For our neighbours. For the next generation.

Because every life matters.
Because no one should die because they couldn’t afford a ride.
Because hope should be free.

✊ Let’s Talk

Have you been billed for an ambulance?
Has the system failed you or someone you love?
Share your story. Speak out. Don’t let them turn suffering into silence.

🧡
#HousingIsHealthcare #AddictionIsNotACrime #DTES #BCHealthCrisis #EndTheStigma #CrimeAgainstHumanity