What Is Outreach?
Outreach work aims to uplift community members by making social connections, providing resources, and bridging the gap between social services and those in need. Outreach can look like: Walking someone home at night, checking available shelters for someone and making sure they get a bed, following up with people who you've connected with each week to build relationships, and listening to community members about what and if they need help, and so much more.
Who Can Do Outreach Work?
Anyone with a willingness to learn, show compassion and interact with folks in a non-judgmental way is able to do outreach work. Do you have outreach experience? Great! If not, no worries, we all start somewhere!
Lived and Living Experience
People with lived and living experiences of substance use and their families and friends (LLEAFF) are experts in the field of substance use. As experts, they are essential to our outreach team and should make up the backbone of any outreach work. If you identify as someone with LLEAFF, we encourage you to join our team. We cannot do this work without you!
First Aid Requirements:
Prior experience on the outreach team is a prerequisite for joining the medical team. Those on the medical team require current 40H+ first aid certification or a valid license as a healthcare professional (PCP, Nurse etc.); or (on a case-by-case basis) a combination of experience as an assistant on medical calls with SSOS and BLS CPR/AED certification with Airway Management & Oxygen Therapy endorsement.
What kind of medical response do we provide?
The primary concern of our teams is providing emergency intervention to opioid overdoses. The frequency of overdose response depends on the current drug supply and monthly factors.
We commonly provide wound care on request, from handing out bandages to cleaning and wrapping open wounds.
We need your help!
Want to help but can't make our evening outreach shifts work? No problem, we still need you!
We are in dire need of folks who have reliable access to a vehicle that can help with day-time tasks such as:
Shift times will vary but are flexible depending on the task.
Infinitely recurring activities
| Activity | Shifts | Start | End | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patrol | 177 | 4/23/2025 | 12/31/2026 | |
Who We Are
Street Saviours Outreach Society works on the front lines of the opioid crisis providing both outreach and emergency medical services in Vancouver's Downtown-East Side.
We are a grass-roots, secular, volunteer-run non-profit comprised of community outreach advocates, people in recovery from the community, licensed first responders and healthcare workers.
What We Do
One of our primary goals is to find and give emergency care to overdoses and aid those in crisis on the streets and back alleyways after other services have closed, filling a gap in services.
Along the way, we deliver essential resources (food, water), harm reduction and outreach support, including Narcan kits distribution, referral to services, and the promotion of mental, physical and sexual wellbeing.
TL;DR
Above all, we are here to spread love and compassion and be a visible sign of safety in the streets and alleys at night. To date, we have intervened in over 600 overdose interventions, saving lives that could otherwise have been lost to the mounting overdose crisis.
