History & Philosophy of Sheltering
This type of shelter minimizes barriers such as strict rules or moral judgments to allow people more access to services.
What is low-barrier sheltering?
Staffed 24/7 but operating for residents between 7:00 PM and 9:00 AM, this shelter was initially opened in 2009 as a warming shelter in the basement of the old Stanley in Blood Alley.
What is New Fountain Shelter?
These can be used as a protective measure against transmission of disease, but should not be worn continuously throughout your shift.
What are gloves?
This seemingly innocuous act can be the most effective when working to de-escalate an individual and ensure they feel seen.
What is active listening?
This specific type of boundary prevents staff from crossing into personal friendship territory or becoming overly emotionally invested with residents.`
What are Emotional Boundaries?
Acknowledging that harm is an inevitable part of life, this guiding practice focuses on reducing potential harm across drug use, physical health, and emotional well-being rather than seeking to eliminate it entirely.
What is harm reduction?
Developed in 2020 after the Oppenheimer Park decampment, this hybrid transitional space operates 8 shelter rooms and 8 rental rooms and helps accommodate couples.
What is the Lark?
This device can be used to protect staff from smoke inhalation or when treating a resident who has been bear sprayed.
What is a respirator?
If police assistance is required when supporting someone experiencing a mental health episode, staff should call 911 and request this specific unit to attend.
What is Car 87?
Maintaining this category of boundary ensures transparency and prevents actions that could be misinterpreted as conflicts of interest or personal favors.
What are Financial Boundaries?
Pushed under the flawed premise that drugs caused addiction, this political campaign was used to target and disrupt Black and anti-war activist communities, leaving an ideological legacy that still impacts shelter operations today.
What is the War on Drugs?
The Osborn shelter was one of the first in the city to do this.
What is operate as a 24-hour shelter?
When cleaning up biohazards, all sites have these 4 main protective things on hand.
What are goggles, masks, gloves, & tyvek suits?
This technique involves respecting personal space by maintaining a distance of at least one leg length and positioning your body semi-sideways, or at an "L-shape" angle when seated.
What is the supportive stance?
Alongside shelter policies and procedures, these non-negotiable standards serve as boundaries to guarantee consistency and fairness for all.
What are rules?
This building, which now goes by a different name, was the initial Portland Hotel–one of the first buildings in Vancouver to provide supportive housing.
What is the Pennsylvania?
To maintain an active presence and promote safety, staff must conduct full walkthroughs of the shelter space–including bathroom checks–at this minimum frequency.
What is every 30 minutes?
Use this app to document and submit incident reports.
What is the safety app?
If an individual is becoming worked up, staff can offer to share or give them this item to take a break and return to the conversation in 10 minutes or once they are calm.
What is a cigarette or smoke?
Beyond establishing consistency, clear boundaries support residents by defining who is responsible for care and outlining the process for doing this.
What is Accessing Support/Care?
Modern shelters trace their historical origins to this era, when rapid urbanization and wage labor displaced workers who lost their jobs.
What is the industrial revolution?
This is one of the first tasks to complete at the start of every shift.
What is check the O2 tanks and Crashkit?
This type of report can be submitted on the safety app but does not deal with an incident or hazard.
What is a positive interaction report?
While general escalated interactions are noted in the communication log, staff must electronically file this specific record if an incident involves violence, threats, or property damage.
What is an incident report?
Staff are strictly instructed to avoid this negative workplace behavior, which includes speaking poorly about a coworker to residents or peers.
What is gossip?