For over 25 years, Portland Hotel Society has provided non-judgemental support and services to people with drug dependency in downtown Vancouver's east side. In 2003, Portland Hotel Society made history by becoming the first organization in North America to open a supervised injection facility.

1. Portland Hotel Society

2.  For over 25 years, Portland Hotel Society has provided non-
judgemental support and services to people with drug
dependency in downtown Vancouver's east side. In 2003,
Portland Hotel Society made history by becoming the first
organization in North America to open a supervised injection
facility.
Created in response to a continual rise in the number of drug-
related deaths in the area, the InSite Supervised Injection
Facility is co-managed by Vancouver Coastal Health and
affords regular drug users with access to clean injection
equipment as well as valuable healthcare, addiction, and
community support services.

3.  Injections are supervised by InSite staff nurses
who foster tolerant, respectful relationships with
the often marginalized drug-using population.
The facility features a 12-seat injection room and a
post injection room, where participants are
welcome to juice or coffee while communicating
with staff in a safe, supervised environment, as
opposed to the streets. InSite staff members also
help connect participants with a variety of drug-
related services such as wound treatment,
withdrawal management, and opiate replacement.