Vancouver Tour Opportunities

There are many services and supports available in Vancouver for people who use substances. While you are in town for the Issues of Substance Conference, we are pleased to partner with the following agencies to offer tours and allow you to connect with some of the initiatives in the community.  

INSITE & ONSITE Tour

INSITE
 
Opening its doors in 2003, Insite was the first sanctioned supervised drug consumption site in North America (receiving federal exemption from Health Canada) and has saved thousands of lives and millions of healthcare dollars. Operating as a partnership between Vancouver Coastal Health and the PHS Community Services Society, Insite is a clean and safe environment for users to consume substances.
 
Since its inception, Insite has been at the forefront of intersecting health emergencies experienced by the most marginalized and under-served members of our community.
 
A post-injection Chillout Lounge operated by peers allows participants to connect with people with lived experience who listen to participants’ stories, serve coffee and juice throughout the day, and connect them to additional supports. This can include housing needs, primary care and treatment services such as withdrawal management and opioid agonist treatment.

ONSITE
 
Located upstairs from Insite is Onsite, which offers a direct continuum of care for those wanting a treatment option. Like Insite, Onsite is a program co-managed by the PHS Community Services Society and Vancouver Coastal Health.
 
Built on the principles of harm reduction, Onsite is a space for medically supported detox that provides services that include a wide range of recovery-oriented programs along with health and housing supports. Because Onsite primarily transitions people from Insite, it is successful at reaching people at the moment they decide to make a change and works with them to assist in the intake process. Onsite connects residents with permanent housing, physicians, mental health supports, substance use treatment programs and other external programs.

Insite and Onsite are located on separate floors of the same building. Tours of Insite and Onsite will take place early in the morning before they open to the community. Their address is as follows:

139 East Hastings Street
Vancouver, BC V6A 1N5

Individuals will be responsible for their own transportation to and from the tours. The Insite and Onsite building is a 7-minute car ride or a 20-minute walk from the Vancouver Convention Centre.

Register here.

The Dr. Peter Centre

The Dr. Peter Centre is a non-profit organization based in Vancouver that provides progressive health care for people with HIV/AIDS, substance use, and complex mental health issues. Just as our participants span a wide range of needs, the Dr. Peter Centre offers an equally broad spectrum of services, from day health to long-term residential care, keeping them all connected to their community of health. You’ll learn far more about us in this new brand book.

Tours during CCSA’s Issues of Substance 2023 Conference:

• The Dr. Peter Centre will be hosting tours on Tues., Nov. 21.
• Tours will begin at 5:45 p.m. and we will tour a group of 10 people every 15 minutes. The tour takes 1 hour. Tour times are as follows:
  • 5:45 p.m.
  • 6:00 p.m.
  • 6:15 p.m.
  • 6:30 p.m.
  • 6:45 p.m.
• To sign up for a tour, please specify your name, organization, day and time, and email kt@drpeter.org.
• The Dr. Peter Centre is located at 1110 Comox Street (corner of Thurlow, across the street from the backside of St. Paul’s Hospital). It’s a 20-minute walk or 8-minute taxi ride from the Vancouver Convention Centre
• Questions? Please email kt@drpeter.org.

If you have any questions, please contact Andrea Wagner, Event Planner, at awagner@ccsa.ca.