Portland Hotel

Location

20 West Hastings St

Vancouver, BC

Canada

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Annual budget
$7.5 million
Certifications & Awards
  • 2006 Community Service Award
Project Team
  • Primary Funders: Government of Canada; Government of British Columbia; City of Vancouver; private foundations

Summary

Formed in 1993, the Portland Hotel Society (PHS) grew out of a commitment to work with a population of people who at that time found it virtually impossible to secure stable housing and support services of any kind. The overall aim was to improve the quality of life for local residents, achieve stable housing for low-income residents, reduce crime, and improve health in the community.

The Society has tried to remain relevant to the needs identified by the community. The services provided began with housing and now include a number of programs that provide practical support to people that try to minimize the health risks that come with poverty and addictions. The Society's overall aim is to improve the quality of life of marginalized residents, to achieve stable housing for low-income residents, to reduce crime, and to improve health in the community. The Society believes that hope, infrastructure, and a wide range of programs will turn the Downtown Eastside into a vibrant and healthy community that can be worked in and enjoyed.

The PHS Community Services Society began with a housing project for adults living with mental illness and addictions called the Portland Hotel. The Portland was unique in Canada, created at a time when there were no other alternatives for this population that is the most at risk of homelessness. To this day, the Portland remains one of very few examples across North America of how to work with people with mental illness and addictions in a purposefully designed space, with a purposeful mandate and staff who are trained and dedicated to providing support specifically for this target population.

Programs include the first supervised injection site in North America, the Community Transitional Care Team (providing IV antibiotics in a medically supervised housing setting), Drug Users Life Skills Centre, Washington Peer to Peer Needle Exchange, Portland Community Dental Clinic, Pigeon Park Savings Credit Union, and the Interurban Art Gallery.

The Society's housing programs have expanded to include five residential single room occupancy hotels (350 units for Downtown Eastside residents who are homeless), in addition to two supported independent apartment units (72 units for mentally ill adults and seniors), and an "SIL" program for forty adults recovering from addiction (subsidized market apartments with support).

Statistics of interest:

  • Partnerships are essential for the PHS to bring services in to people who don't fit into more mainstream service delivery models.
  • In addition to hundreds of volunteers, about 400 people per month participate in low-threshold employment programs
  • Full-time staff: approx. 100

Tours: Open to the public

This post was imported from the 'Greater Vancouver Green Guide', it's part of the 'Green Guide Portal' to the Green Building Brain.