For two decades Dr. Julian Somers integrated data spanning health, criminal justice and social services to study the effectiveness of publicly-funded programs addressing addiction, mental illness, crime and homelessness throughout BC. Dr. Somers led many large studies comparing different forms of housing and support.
In randomized controlled trials, participants gave their consent for Dr. Somers to receive their data from multiple Ministries. The results demonstrate significant opportunities to improve the effectiveness of publicly-funded services around BC and measure the effectiveness of new programs. Rather than building on this evidence, the BC Government demanded that he destroy the database.
-Global News story Jan. 7, 2023.