PHS Community Services Society

@phscss.bsky.social

Housing, harm reduction and healthcare in Vancouver & Victoria, BC

A Toronto hospital network's supportive housing development for homeless patients has saved so much healthcare time and money that it's being doubled. Dr. Andrew Boozary’s team at Toronto’s University Health Network announced a new 54-bed building. Read on:

Toronto hospital to double housing program that reduces ER visits

The residents say their new homes have transformed their lives and given them hope again. It's also halved their hospital emergency room visits and given them stability.

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"Harm reduction and treatment should not be seen as conflicting 'one-or-the other' approaches, but as essential components of holistic care for people who use drugs" - Policy Options Every day, 17 Canadadians are poisoned by opioids, yet harm reduction services are being shut

When ideology replaces evidence in the drug poisoning crisis

Cutting harm reduction services ignores evidence, increases risk and leaves people who use drugs more vulnerable to a toxic supply.

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Governments talk about treatment beds and involuntary care to "absolve themselves of any meaningful action" against the housing and affordability crises - Canadian Drug Policy Coalition. More treatment is not a substitute for poverty reduction & affordable housing, they write

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.  Published December 30, 2025  Updated January 7, 2026  This statement outlines the Canadian…

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“Did you do anything to refresh your memory in order to testify meaningfully today?” asked the judge. At a hearing re DULF's constitutional challenge, a senior Health Canada official struggled to reconcile government claims with past statements on safe supply, reports @godfrey.bsky.social:

DULF Challenge: Health Canada Official Flounders on the Stand - Filter

A senior Canadian bureaucrat struggled on the witness stand to reconcile past statements by the federal government with its claim ...

filtermag.org

Last week, I showed how the Alberta government conceals up to 89% of ambulance dispatches to overdoses / drug poisonings in public reporting. Now Mike Parker, president of the Alberta union that includes paramedics, reacts to the data. He's not pleased. READ: drugdatadecoded.ca/how-do-you-r...

Paramedics union head: "How do you resource a system when you're not telling the truth about it?"

Mike Parker, the president of the Alberta union that includes paramedics, reacts to reporting by Drug Data Decoded showing the Alberta government under-reports ambulance dispatches to drug toxicity by...

drugdatadecoded.ca

As some UK politicians seek to end the drug war, it's easy to forget how heroin prescribing existed there for much of the 20th century. It "just works," says Dr. John Marks—who was "vilified" as political pressure shut down his successful clinics in 1995. @sarahlsinclair.bsky.social reports:

The Merseyside Experiment: Will UK Recall Its Heroin-Prescribing History? - Filter

“The war on drugs has failed,” Zack Polanski told reporters in October 2025. The new leader of the Green Party ...

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We're hiring nurses to work in the community we serve. Wanted: LPNs to perform the full scope of nursing functions in a primary care setting in the Downtown Eastside. You will get to use your clinical skills and longitudinal relationship-building abilities Apply: www.phs.ca/careers/lpn-vancouver

LPN, Vancouver | PHS Community Services Society

PHS Health Care is looking for a skilled Licensed Practical Nurse (Casual) to perform the full scope of nursing functions in a primary care setting. Days only - no nights!

phs.ca