Portland Hotel Society (PHS) is an established Vancouver nonprofit organization dedicated to providing a safety net to many of the Downtown Eastside (DTES) area’s most vulnerable residents, including those addicted to drugs. Alongside the Portland Hotel Society, the Drug Users Resource Centre ((DURC), launched in 2003, provides DTES community members with a full range of practical, user-focused services, including a methadone clinic and on-site primary care. Empowerment and peer engagement are the foundations of the DURC program, which provides education designed for specific groups. Participants engage with peer staff members in areas such as therapeutic interventions and barrier-free health. In addition, volunteer opportunities are encouraged and prevocational skills training is provided. Among the ongoing DURC programs are Acupuncture, Young Users Unite, and Women’s Action Group. Participants can also take part in Music Workshop, Recording Studio, and First Nations Sacred Space and Drum Group. The full schedule of current programming can be accessed at www.phs.ca.
The Portland Hotel Society upholds a commitment to providing safe housing and ancillary services for individuals in need. The Portland Hotel Society co-manages the InSite Supervised Injection Facility as one of these services, in keeping with the society's dedication to respectful services for those struggling with addiction.At a supervised injection facility, individuals with drug addictions can inject self-owned substances under the watchful eyes of health care professionals. Individuals can use the facility without risking arrest and with the knowledge that if an overdose occurs, help is immediately available.Cities have been introducing such sites in response to widespread opiate addiction and the associated stigma. Because many individuals with addictions also face homelessness or uncertain housing, they frequently inject on the streets or in public restrooms, and they often risk overdose as well as in infection from reused or dirty needles. By providing these individuals with a safe space, supervised injection facility staff can not only reduce these risks but also offer treatment referrals and increase the rate at which individuals with addictions enter treatment.
The Portland Hotel Society converts hotels into affordable housing residencies that offer shelter to people with mental illnesses, physical disabilities, and substance abuse problems, as well as to individuals who cannot obtain permanent housing. Based in Vancouver, Canada, the Portland Hotel Society’s converted housing developments include the Rainier Hotel for women. Opened in 2009 as a women’s treatment center, the Rainier Hotel provides housing for women recovering from alcohol and substance abuse. Originally constructed in the 1920s, the three-story hotel offers shelter to women as they undergo addiction and substance abuse treatment through a program that caters to their specific needs. Staff work individually with women to help them take control of their lives and overcome their problems where traditional treatment settings have failed. The program also delivers stepped progressive care that enables women to work at their own pace. Stays at the Rainier Hotel average six to nine months, and the majority of participants are discharged with access to long-term housing. Housing accommodations are arranged according to length of stay, with alcohol and drug treatment participants on the second floor and long-term residents on the third. The hotel operates in partnership with Vancouver Coastal Health and Health Canada, which began construction efforts to convert the hotel in 2008.
