OUTREACH
Our Outreach Teams bring a unique blend of skills and life experience to support marginalised members of our street community who lack access to essential health, housing, and support services.
Each day our teams provide overdose response and training; first-aid, basic wound care; harm reduction supplies and safer use education; assistance in finding shelter and filling out housing applications; accessing employment opportunities; assistance with access to disability or social assistance benefits or obtaining identification; referrals to detox, counselling, peer support, treatment and addictions services.
Our Outreach Team helps the street community with small day to day goals as well as larger health and wellness plans. Outreach also guides clients to a safe place to use substances, reducing chances of fatal overdoses and communicable diseases, at the Harbour.
THE HARBOUR AND COURTENAY OPS
The Harbour and Courtenay OPS are collaborative, multi-agency, interdisciplinary sites designed to match individuals to the right programs at exactly the right time. This approach reduces barriers and improves the quality of life for those in pursuit of substance use management. The fulsome continuum of services include: counselling and psychotherapy, supervised consumption, harm reduction supplies and education, intensive case management, and low-barrier access to medication-assisted treatment options and primary care.The Harbour offers consumption and harm reduction services on a level that is likely unparalleled around the world.
After utilising services from the harbour or if the street community is looking for respite from the elements in a calmer environment they are welcome at our North Park Drop In space.
North Park Drop-in
North Park is an accessible, low-barrier, one-stop location that offers refuge from the elements (hot or cold), and temporary respite for our street community from being repeatedly shuffled along throughout the day.
The drop-in offers a variety of services. Housing, health education, administrative support, harm reduction supplies, Naloxone training, and various daily drop-in groups that increase connection and mental health including: Solid Chat Room, Art as Therapy, Newsletter/Magazine Group, Music Group, HEP-C/HIV Education Group, Indigenous Women’s Group, and Indigenous Wellness Circle Groups.
Street Clean
Hosted at our North Park Drop-in is Solid’s longest-standing service - our volunteer-run “street clean” team: a twice daily, two-person team made up of volunteers from the street community. Each shift provides an opportunity for street-involved people to support our community by distributing harm reduction and safer use supplies, and to collect any discarded syringes and drug paraphernalia from Victoria’s neighbourhoods for disposal.
Through this work, volunteers build skills, consistency, and relationships with our staff which lead to increased self esteem and the potential for future employment. Many of our current staff, including core members of our leadership team, began working with Solid as volunteers through this program.
If a client is unhoused and they are looking for a safe warm place to sleep they are guided to our Overnight Shelter Services.
Overnight Shelter Services
In the winter of 2023 Solid Outreach Society opened its first seasonal shelter with the support of, and located at, St. John the Divine.
This site sleeps 30 individuals who wouldn’t otherwise have access to shelter, food, harm reduction supports, and peer counselling. At Solid we see this as an opportunity to strengthen our community by helping individuals access healthcare, food, employment opportunities, and potentially find more suitable long-term housing solutions.
From our drop in overnight shelter our clients can apply for permanent or semi permanent housing that fits their needs such as the HOPPS.
Housing Overdose Prevention Peer Services
Solid provides support for people living in housing sites by dispensing harm reduction supplies, peer to peer support, and providing overdose response if necessary.
We operate in tandem with the housing providers to bring about the most positive outcomes for the live in community.
If and when a client is ready to begin their journey into recovery they have the option to join the recovery community at our long-term abstinence based program entitled Dowler Place.
Dowler Place
Dowler Place is an around the clock, 25 bed, supportive recovery space for individuals seeking sobriety as well as connections with health and housing services as they transition out of detox and await stable housing and supports at other locations.
We provide access to daily recovery plans and wellness routines, ID and income supports, support groups, healthy meals, vocational training and employment opportunities, health education, all of which lead to a long term plan of sobriety with independent living.
