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Low-barrier supportive housing, healthcare and harm reduction save lives
Another response to the opioid epidemic is our mobile OPS van, which operates like our other overdose prevention sites, only portable so that it can be deployed throughout the Vancouver Coastal Health catchment to assist community members in need of witnessed injection.
Funded by Vancouver Coastal Health, with a generous donation from the Telus Foundation, the Mobile Overdose Prevention Unit is a state-of-the-art customized 24-foot Sprinter van serving as a needle depot with access to clean supplies and a witnessed injection site.
People can access the mobile OPS to inject drugs safely under witness by staff trained to respond in case of overdose. The service parks for the day at a specific location where those in need are provided sterile harm reduction supplies and be supported by a PHS staff member and peer who can also provide resources. Prime response locations are determined from evaluations of Coroner’s Reports and emergency response data made available to Vancouver Coastal Health.
