Portland Hotel Society’s Drug Users Resource Centre in Vancouver

Wednesday, April 26, 2017

Portland Hotel Society’s Drug Users Resource Centre in Vancouver

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.

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About Portland Hotel Society

The origins of the Portland Hotel Society stretch back to 1991 when a group of concerned individuals collaborated to convert a downtown Vancouver, British Columbia, hotel into housing for the city’s homeless population. The society itself was officially established in 1993 with an emphasis on providing appropriate shelter for even the most “hard to house” Vancouver residents. Building on its commitment to supply affordable housing, the Portland Hotel Society developed an ambitious mission statement that included plans to provide essential community services and advocate on behalf of the disadvantaged, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, religious affiliation, or condition of health.

Over the past two decades, the Portland Hotel Society has accomplished a great many of its founding goals. It currently operates more than 10 separate housing and assisted-living facilities throughout the greater Vancouver region. Thanks to ongoing partnerships with organizations like the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, the society also manages a number of critical local heath and wellness initiatives, including the Portland Clinic and the Washington Needle Depot.