Shawn Richards died at the age of 37 after ingesting toxic drugs in the room of a supportive housing building where he was living in 2017. It took three days for staff to find his body.
Shawn’s mother, Cyndie Richards, was already haunted by the fact that her son’s lifeless body lay behind a locked door for so long.
But Richards says learning almost the same thing happened to Diane Chandler seven years later “chilled her to the bone.”
She says after Shawn’s death, a manager at RainCity promised her that as a result of the mistake, wellness checks on tenants in the facility would be performed every eight to 12 hours, instead of every 24.
“I just thought, ‘Oh my god, you haven’t done anything, and you promised me you would,'” she said.
Richards and Chandler’s two children say the delay in finding their loved ones’ bodies reveals gaps in B.C.’s supportive housing systems, and the dangers of using drugs behind closed doors in facilities meant to help those struggling with mental health and addiction.
“I didn’t make a big scene at the time; I took them at their word [that] a horrendous mistake had been made … And then to find this indignity was done,” said Richards.
In a statement, B.C. Housing said, “We are deeply saddened by any loss of life and extend our condolences to the family and friends of this individual. The safety of residents is always our top priority. “
The statement said in 2017, B.C. Housing “strengthened requirements in operating agreements for providers to verify resident safety when residents had not been seen for an extended period of time, not exceeding 48 hours.”
RainCity Housing did not respond to a CBC News request for comment.
Richards said the testimonies of Chandler’s two children brought back vivid memories of her own son’s body being found, exactly seven years earlier.
“Now they have to have the heartache like I did of knowing that my son’s lifeless body lay there without someone coming to take his body away, letting his family know,” she said.
“It’s just unbearable.”
Chandler, who had long suffered depression and addiction, died on April 20 in the Foxglove complex housing facility in Surrey in 2024.
A CBC News investigation revealed it took 11 days for her to be found, though staff had signed off on wellness checks saying she was alive.
Emails between B.C. Housing staff revealed staff members who thought they had seen Chandler had mixed her up with another tenant. It wasn’t until May 1 that staff would find Chandler and the tenant they had mistaken for her, both dead in their rooms.
Shawn Richards had been living in Princess Rooms, a RainCity facility on Powell Street in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, and visited his mother at her workplace on a weekly basis.
Richards described him as a funny and popular kid who excelled in every sport he tried. He fell into addiction in his early 20s as he struggled with his mental health.
The RainCity housing website describes Princess Rooms as a “transitional housing program focused on providing a safe, supportive housing environment for individuals with long histories of homelessness.”
A copy of his coroner’s report, which has been reviewed by CBC News, says he was last seen alive on April 28, 2017. He was found on May 1, and the coroner concluded he likely died on April 29.
Richards said shortly after her son’s death, she was told an employee didn’t open the door to check on Shawn earlier because they were worried about what they might find. She has little other information about why days passed without anyone from RainCity checking on Shawn.
In response to the CBC News story about Chandler’s death, B.C. Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon said the province has implemented changes that allow supportive housing operators to enter tenants’ rooms “as a way to confirm their health, well-being and safety.”
Those changes were implemented in January 2024, four months prior to Chandler’s death.
Across supportive housing in B.C., the frequency of wellness checks varies site to site depending on the level of care provided and the needs of individuals living on site.
Kahlon said while the incident involving Chandler was “unacceptable,” supportive housing facilities in the province continue to save lives.
“If we don’t have these sites, people are sleeping in parks and in encampments, and they’re in a way more dangerous environment for themselves and for the public, so we’re trying to meet people where they need the supports,” he said.
But Richards said she sometimes wonders whether the street might have been a safer place for her son to use, rather than behind a locked door.
“My horror as a mother is that I fought so hard for him to get into this, and if Shawn had been on the street, he probably would be alive because there would be someone there that would have given him Narcan.”
