PHS Community Services Society
@phscss.bsky.social
Housing, harm reduction and healthcare in Vancouver & Victoria, BC
Reposted by PHS Community Services Society
🧵Start the new year off with free learning opportunities, including our upcoming Foundational Fridays session, "Syringe Access 101!" Through this webinar, we'll explore the critical role of sterile syringe access in saving lives, promoting #PublicHealth, & reducing...
bit.ly/SyringeAccess1012026
bit.ly/SyringeAccess1012026
January 5, 2026 at 5:39 PM
🧵Start the new year off with free learning opportunities, including our upcoming Foundational Fridays session, "Syringe Access 101!" Through this webinar, we'll explore the critical role of sterile syringe access in saving lives, promoting #PublicHealth, & reducing...
bit.ly/SyringeAccess1012026
bit.ly/SyringeAccess1012026
“I’m hoping that the province will realize that there is no way to not pay for the housing crisis” - Pacifica Housing CEO Carolina Ibarra.
“You either invest and pay for solutions, or you’re gonna pay even more in homelessness management.
“We just need to commit and invest.”
“You either invest and pay for solutions, or you’re gonna pay even more in homelessness management.
“We just need to commit and invest.”
From streets to support: Searching for a better future for Victoria’s homeless - Victoria News
Our Place Society and Pacifica Housing discuss this year’s wins, challenges and work to come
tinyurl.com
January 4, 2026 at 6:01 PM
“I’m hoping that the province will realize that there is no way to not pay for the housing crisis” - Pacifica Housing CEO Carolina Ibarra.
“You either invest and pay for solutions, or you’re gonna pay even more in homelessness management.
“We just need to commit and invest.”
“You either invest and pay for solutions, or you’re gonna pay even more in homelessness management.
“We just need to commit and invest.”
“Seniors homelessness is bad now, and it's about to get much worse" - Laura Tamblyn Watts, CEO of seniors advocacy group CanAge.
“We've seen a sharp increase in the everyday costs of goods and services.
“Older people simply can't make ends meet on fixed incomes.”
Read on:
“We've seen a sharp increase in the everyday costs of goods and services.
“Older people simply can't make ends meet on fixed incomes.”
Read on:
As cost of living climbs, a Vancouver shelter adapts to a rise in unhoused seniors | CBC News
For the first time in the history of Union Gospel Mission's Vancouver shelter, home-care aid workers are making weekly visits to help seniors with basic tasks like taking a shower.
tinyurl.com
January 3, 2026 at 6:00 PM
“Seniors homelessness is bad now, and it's about to get much worse" - Laura Tamblyn Watts, CEO of seniors advocacy group CanAge.
“We've seen a sharp increase in the everyday costs of goods and services.
“Older people simply can't make ends meet on fixed incomes.”
Read on:
“We've seen a sharp increase in the everyday costs of goods and services.
“Older people simply can't make ends meet on fixed incomes.”
Read on:
"Drug users are being scapegoated for all the failures of our broken system" - DULF compassion club members.
"We’re low hanging fruit. It’s easy, you can always blame the drug user. Vilify, criminalize, stigmatize: Makes it so you want to crawl away and hide. These are lies."
"We’re low hanging fruit. It’s easy, you can always blame the drug user. Vilify, criminalize, stigmatize: Makes it so you want to crawl away and hide. These are lies."
DULF and the Case for Radical Harm Reduction | Capilano Courier
The need for safer supply continues as the Drug Users Liberation Front contends with legal battle Ren Zhang (they/them) // Contributor Cameron Skorulski (He/Him) // Production Manager As deaths…
www.capilanocourier.com
January 3, 2026 at 3:00 AM
"Drug users are being scapegoated for all the failures of our broken system" - DULF compassion club members.
"We’re low hanging fruit. It’s easy, you can always blame the drug user. Vilify, criminalize, stigmatize: Makes it so you want to crawl away and hide. These are lies."
"We’re low hanging fruit. It’s easy, you can always blame the drug user. Vilify, criminalize, stigmatize: Makes it so you want to crawl away and hide. These are lies."
Reposted by PHS Community Services Society
drugpolicy.ca/our-work/add...
“Addiction treatment: what it is, where it currently fails, and how it could meet the needs of people and communities.”
“Addiction treatment: what it is, where it currently fails, and how it could meet the needs of people and communities.”
Addiction Treatment in Context: Principles for a System of Just, Accessible, and Voluntary Care - Canadian Drug Policy Coalition
Position Statement Veuillez noter : une traduction française de cette déclaration sera bientôt disponible. December 30, 2025 This statement outlines the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition’s organization...
drugpolicy.ca
January 2, 2026 at 5:32 PM
drugpolicy.ca/our-work/add...
“Addiction treatment: what it is, where it currently fails, and how it could meet the needs of people and communities.”
“Addiction treatment: what it is, where it currently fails, and how it could meet the needs of people and communities.”
Reposted by PHS Community Services Society
“Canada appears to be the country with the highest average rate of involuntary psychiatric detentions in the western world.”
Note this is *before* new forced abstinence measures hit full speed in AB and BC.
www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...
Note this is *before* new forced abstinence measures hit full speed in AB and BC.
www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...
Opinion: Why does Canada have such high rates of forced psychiatric hospitalizations?
We should push our governments to better report on who’s being involuntarily committed and why, and if they’re more often helped or seriously harmed
www.theglobeandmail.com
January 2, 2026 at 4:22 PM
“Canada appears to be the country with the highest average rate of involuntary psychiatric detentions in the western world.”
Note this is *before* new forced abstinence measures hit full speed in AB and BC.
www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...
Note this is *before* new forced abstinence measures hit full speed in AB and BC.
www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...
Reposted by PHS Community Services Society
While people capitalize on fears of Aboriginal Title to reinforce anti-Indigenous racism, let's look at something that is *actually* devaluing land in BC: pipelines.
ckpgtoday.ca/2025/12/06/r...
ckpgtoday.ca/2025/12/06/r...
RDFFG directors discuss possible pipeline devaluation
PRINCE GEORGE - The Regional District of Fraser-Fort George board of directors discussed a possible re-evaluat...
ckpgtoday.ca
December 22, 2025 at 6:59 PM
While people capitalize on fears of Aboriginal Title to reinforce anti-Indigenous racism, let's look at something that is *actually* devaluing land in BC: pipelines.
ckpgtoday.ca/2025/12/06/r...
ckpgtoday.ca/2025/12/06/r...
Reposted by PHS Community Services Society
we’ve crossed the foggy horizon and have no choice but to navigate the infinite night of the spooky zone
December 31, 2025 at 8:53 AM
we’ve crossed the foggy horizon and have no choice but to navigate the infinite night of the spooky zone
Reposted by PHS Community Services Society
being a part of this has given me a lot of hope. But i object to the people involved being labeled “activists”. They’re just neighbors. “Activist” is only ever applied to leftists as a way to make them seem less normal. These people are normie AF.
www.startribune.com/inside-the-o...
www.startribune.com/inside-the-o...
Inside the organized resistance to ICE in Minnesota
As the federal government broadened immigration enforcement in the Twin Cities, a network of neighborhood activists ramped up pushback by keeping tabs on ICE agents and lending aid to families in hidi...
www.startribune.com
December 30, 2025 at 3:50 PM
being a part of this has given me a lot of hope. But i object to the people involved being labeled “activists”. They’re just neighbors. “Activist” is only ever applied to leftists as a way to make them seem less normal. These people are normie AF.
www.startribune.com/inside-the-o...
www.startribune.com/inside-the-o...
Reposted by PHS Community Services Society
"An organization that began 30 years ago as a peer group for sex workers has grown into an operation with over 50 employees to support more than 2,000 sex workers a year in #Victoria" #VancouverIsland #BC #BritishColumbia www.timescolonist.com/christmas-fu...
Victoria's sex worker support organization thriving in 30th year
With a $3.5 million annual operating budget, the Peers Victoria Resources Society does everything from handing out safer sex supplies, to counselling and housing advocacy.
www.timescolonist.com
December 31, 2025 at 1:30 PM
"An organization that began 30 years ago as a peer group for sex workers has grown into an operation with over 50 employees to support more than 2,000 sex workers a year in #Victoria" #VancouverIsland #BC #BritishColumbia www.timescolonist.com/christmas-fu...
Reposted by PHS Community Services Society
Good analysis of the connection between #addiction and other #mentalhealth disorders.
thebulletproofpoet1.godaddysites.com/blog/f/the-c...
thebulletproofpoet1.godaddysites.com/blog/f/the-c...
The Cycle of Self-Medication: How Mental Health Drives Addiction
Introduction: The Quiet Pharmacy of Pain
thebulletproofpoet1.godaddysites.com
December 30, 2025 at 9:42 PM
Good analysis of the connection between #addiction and other #mentalhealth disorders.
thebulletproofpoet1.godaddysites.com/blog/f/the-c...
thebulletproofpoet1.godaddysites.com/blog/f/the-c...
The team from Softchoice Vancouver collected and packaged toiletries and little luxuries to create 240 travel hygiene kits for our shelter guests.
They joined forces with Kits For A Cause to source and bag the items at a teambuilding kit-packing event.
Thank you for your generosity and support.
They joined forces with Kits For A Cause to source and bag the items at a teambuilding kit-packing event.
Thank you for your generosity and support.
December 30, 2025 at 6:01 PM
The team from Softchoice Vancouver collected and packaged toiletries and little luxuries to create 240 travel hygiene kits for our shelter guests.
They joined forces with Kits For A Cause to source and bag the items at a teambuilding kit-packing event.
Thank you for your generosity and support.
They joined forces with Kits For A Cause to source and bag the items at a teambuilding kit-packing event.
Thank you for your generosity and support.
Reposted by PHS Community Services Society
Don't tell me there isn't enough money in the world to feed and house everyone.
The money is there, it's the will that isn't.
The money is there, it's the will that isn't.
December 22, 2025 at 10:41 PM
Don't tell me there isn't enough money in the world to feed and house everyone.
The money is there, it's the will that isn't.
The money is there, it's the will that isn't.
Reposted by PHS Community Services Society
"Unhoused people in #Parksville #QualicumBeach are looking at another cold, wet winter season without an overnight shelter. Many of the area’s #unhoused are working people who simply cannot afford market rent" #VancouverIsland #BC #homelessness #housing vancouverislandfreedaily.com/2025/12/29/p...
PQB unhoused enter another winter with no overnight shelter - Vancouver Island Free Daily
Government and NGOs working on solutions
vancouverislandfreedaily.com
December 29, 2025 at 2:34 PM
"Unhoused people in #Parksville #QualicumBeach are looking at another cold, wet winter season without an overnight shelter. Many of the area’s #unhoused are working people who simply cannot afford market rent" #VancouverIsland #BC #homelessness #housing vancouverislandfreedaily.com/2025/12/29/p...
Special thanks to the Ribbon Community for providing Christmas gift bags of food necessities and luxuries to some PHS residents.
Formerly known as AIDS Vancouver, Ribbon is Canada's original AIDS service organization, helping people overcome the impacts of HIV and HIV stigma.
Formerly known as AIDS Vancouver, Ribbon is Canada's original AIDS service organization, helping people overcome the impacts of HIV and HIV stigma.
December 29, 2025 at 6:02 PM
Special thanks to the Ribbon Community for providing Christmas gift bags of food necessities and luxuries to some PHS residents.
Formerly known as AIDS Vancouver, Ribbon is Canada's original AIDS service organization, helping people overcome the impacts of HIV and HIV stigma.
Formerly known as AIDS Vancouver, Ribbon is Canada's original AIDS service organization, helping people overcome the impacts of HIV and HIV stigma.
It means a lot when people reach out this time of year to offer thoughtful and practical gifts to the community we serve.
Two students at Stratford Hall School, Ella and Stephanie, arranged care packages for people staying at our shelters over Christmas. (Stephanie not photographed.)
Two students at Stratford Hall School, Ella and Stephanie, arranged care packages for people staying at our shelters over Christmas. (Stephanie not photographed.)
December 28, 2025 at 6:01 PM
It means a lot when people reach out this time of year to offer thoughtful and practical gifts to the community we serve.
Two students at Stratford Hall School, Ella and Stephanie, arranged care packages for people staying at our shelters over Christmas. (Stephanie not photographed.)
Two students at Stratford Hall School, Ella and Stephanie, arranged care packages for people staying at our shelters over Christmas. (Stephanie not photographed.)
“For many, drugs are simply an easier relief from pain" - former BC chief coroner Lisa Lapointe.
“We’re seeing more people who use drugs because of the housing crisis. The province has done good things, but not enough of anything.”
“We’re seeing more people who use drugs because of the housing crisis. The province has done good things, but not enough of anything.”
B.C.’s toxic drug crisis: human rights, evidence and the push for involuntary care
On Human Rights Day (Dec. 10), more than 500 people signed up for a livestream hosted by B.C.’s Office of the Human Rights Commissioner (BCOHRC) to grapple with one of
www.pentictonherald.ca
December 27, 2025 at 6:02 PM
“For many, drugs are simply an easier relief from pain" - former BC chief coroner Lisa Lapointe.
“We’re seeing more people who use drugs because of the housing crisis. The province has done good things, but not enough of anything.”
“We’re seeing more people who use drugs because of the housing crisis. The province has done good things, but not enough of anything.”
Staff at three veterinary clinics collected treats and toys for PHS residents and shelter guests pets.
Donations were arranged through the Hearts to Paws initiative of Merck Animal Health Canada, which supports shelters and outreach programs across Canada.
I borrowed HQ regular Ringo for the pic.
Donations were arranged through the Hearts to Paws initiative of Merck Animal Health Canada, which supports shelters and outreach programs across Canada.
I borrowed HQ regular Ringo for the pic.
December 26, 2025 at 6:01 PM
Staff at three veterinary clinics collected treats and toys for PHS residents and shelter guests pets.
Donations were arranged through the Hearts to Paws initiative of Merck Animal Health Canada, which supports shelters and outreach programs across Canada.
I borrowed HQ regular Ringo for the pic.
Donations were arranged through the Hearts to Paws initiative of Merck Animal Health Canada, which supports shelters and outreach programs across Canada.
I borrowed HQ regular Ringo for the pic.
Stylists from a White Rock's Sin 7 Salon called round to give free haircuts to seniors living with PHS.
It was a beautiful event. The Sin 7 Salon team were friendly and treated everyone with respect - chatting and sharing holiday treats.
It was another day at the salon, basically.
It was a beautiful event. The Sin 7 Salon team were friendly and treated everyone with respect - chatting and sharing holiday treats.
It was another day at the salon, basically.
December 25, 2025 at 6:02 PM
Stylists from a White Rock's Sin 7 Salon called round to give free haircuts to seniors living with PHS.
It was a beautiful event. The Sin 7 Salon team were friendly and treated everyone with respect - chatting and sharing holiday treats.
It was another day at the salon, basically.
It was a beautiful event. The Sin 7 Salon team were friendly and treated everyone with respect - chatting and sharing holiday treats.
It was another day at the salon, basically.
These cheerful gift packs containing necessities and luxuries will be given to PHS shelter guests on Christmas Day, courtesy of Everybody Deserves A Smile.
Active in schools throughout the area, the group brings together students, educators, artists & business leaders to support people in crisis.
Active in schools throughout the area, the group brings together students, educators, artists & business leaders to support people in crisis.
December 24, 2025 at 6:01 PM
These cheerful gift packs containing necessities and luxuries will be given to PHS shelter guests on Christmas Day, courtesy of Everybody Deserves A Smile.
Active in schools throughout the area, the group brings together students, educators, artists & business leaders to support people in crisis.
Active in schools throughout the area, the group brings together students, educators, artists & business leaders to support people in crisis.
Reposted by PHS Community Services Society
Delighted to hear that The Invisible Doctrine, the film by @peterhutchison.bsky.social and @lucas-sabean.bsky.social, is being offered free to view on YouTube for the holiday season. It's all yours! youtu.be/gR4eSEetKP0
The secret history of Neoliberalism | The Invisible Doctrine | Full Film
YouTube video by Journeyman Pictures
youtu.be
December 22, 2025 at 7:57 AM
Delighted to hear that The Invisible Doctrine, the film by @peterhutchison.bsky.social and @lucas-sabean.bsky.social, is being offered free to view on YouTube for the holiday season. It's all yours! youtu.be/gR4eSEetKP0
Big thanks to The Right Shoe for their spectacular shoe drive, collecting 750 pairs of new and gently used shoes for the community we serve.
The team reached out to partners On Running Shoes, and two local gyms: the Firm Athletic and Rep 1, who joined forces to gather the donated shoes.
The team reached out to partners On Running Shoes, and two local gyms: the Firm Athletic and Rep 1, who joined forces to gather the donated shoes.
December 21, 2025 at 5:46 PM
Big thanks to The Right Shoe for their spectacular shoe drive, collecting 750 pairs of new and gently used shoes for the community we serve.
The team reached out to partners On Running Shoes, and two local gyms: the Firm Athletic and Rep 1, who joined forces to gather the donated shoes.
The team reached out to partners On Running Shoes, and two local gyms: the Firm Athletic and Rep 1, who joined forces to gather the donated shoes.
"We need neighbourhoods across the city that welcome everyone, not policies that keep driving people away and deeper into poverty and homelessness" - Gilles Cyrenne, Carnegie Housing Project.
A New Plan for the Downtown Eastside Fails Residents | The Tyee
Council’s proposal reduces the number of social housing units required to be included in new buildings.
tinyurl.com
December 20, 2025 at 6:00 PM
"We need neighbourhoods across the city that welcome everyone, not policies that keep driving people away and deeper into poverty and homelessness" - Gilles Cyrenne, Carnegie Housing Project.
Kindness always matters. We thank our good friends at Canada Running Series for thinking about the community we serve.
They are the people who organize the Under Armour Eastside 10K which hosts PHS runners every year, so they got to know us - and asked if they could do something to help out.
They are the people who organize the Under Armour Eastside 10K which hosts PHS runners every year, so they got to know us - and asked if they could do something to help out.
December 20, 2025 at 3:00 AM
Kindness always matters. We thank our good friends at Canada Running Series for thinking about the community we serve.
They are the people who organize the Under Armour Eastside 10K which hosts PHS runners every year, so they got to know us - and asked if they could do something to help out.
They are the people who organize the Under Armour Eastside 10K which hosts PHS runners every year, so they got to know us - and asked if they could do something to help out.
Reposted by PHS Community Services Society
Santas and elves rob Montreal grocery store to ‘give food to the needy’
Santas and elves rob Montreal grocery store to ‘give food to the needy’
Group called Robins des Ruelles later said in statement stunt was intended to highlight cost of living crisis
Dressed in red suits and backed by masked elves, a group of Santas marched into a Montreal supermarket, loaded their bags with thousands of dollars worth of groceries and disappeared into the night.
The bandit Santas later released a statement saying the food would be distributed to the needy, and saying the Robin Hood-style stunt was intended to highlight the spiralling cost of living crisis that has pushed basic necessities increasingly out of reach for ordinary Canadians. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
December 19, 2025 at 5:19 PM
Santas and elves rob Montreal grocery store to ‘give food to the needy’