More support coming for DTES residents as province invests $25M on clinic expansion

A primary care clinic serving vulnerable people in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside will be able to take on more patients, thanks to $25 million in provincial funding.

Since opening its doors at 625 Powell St. in late 2019, the Hope to Health Research & Innovation Centre (H2H), has used a team-based approach to help people navigate a variety of challenges—from finding housing to accessing treatment for mental health challenges and addiction.

During a news conference at the clinic on Friday, Premier David Eby said the expansion of H2H is expected to help an additional 1,000 people on top of the 1,800 already being served.

“When people make the brave decision to ask for support, to ask for help, to rebuild their lives, they need to be met with compassion—to be met with services that meet them where they’re at,” Eby said.

He spoke to the impact of the province’s toxic drug crisis on people who are struggling with their mental health, addiction, housing insecurity and poverty in tandem.

“For this group especially, having wrap around services available makes the difference between having to use the emergency room once, twice, five days a week and being able to stabilize their life,” Eby said. “This is what Hope to Health offers.”

The clinic is led by Dr. Julio Montaner, a leading expert in HIV research who pioneered the B.C.-made strategy of Treatment as Prevention (TasP).

"Using the TasP model, we can address the overlapping mix of medical and social issues that worsen each other, impacting the overall health of vulnerable populations,” Montaner said in a statement.

“The expanded services at Hope to Health ensure that these individuals can access the supports they need all in one place from a team committed to understanding their complex needs,” he added.

H2H incorporates peers and people with lived experiences throughout all service pathways, like Christina Fulton, who lived on the DTES for 16 years and now works as a peer researcher for the clinic.

Fulton overdosed four times in a very short period in 2016. The last time, she wasn’t discharged from St. Paul’s Hospital, but rather put in palliative care. After agreeing to go through treatment, she became a model patient—going on to become a peer support worker before being offered a job at H2H.

“It was very hard to escape the wrath of the Downtown Eastside…to change your path is very jarring and very scary if you don’t have enough support and a team beside you,” Fulton said at the news conference.

“I fought my way out of a storm and continue to fight the good fight alongside some fantastic colleagues, so we can support folks who face the same barriers I once did daily.”

The toxic drug crisis declared in 2016 is linked to more than 12,000 deaths, according to the BC Coroners Service, including 206 in April.

The team at H2H treat opioid addiction as “a behaviour that spreads through social contact” and offers consistent treatment to users, including through a supervised consumption site and prescribed alternatives to illicit drugs.