A new location has been secured for the Thomus Donaghy Overdose Prevention Site, the only overdose prevention site open to the public in the Vancouver City Centre area.

The previous permanent location closed January 31, at the direction of the site owner, and only limited, temporary services have since been available.

Since the toxic-drug crisis was declared a B.C. Public Health emergency in 2016, the illicit-drug supply has been the leading cause of death in the province for people aged 10 to 59. In addition to expanding prevention and addiction treatment services, Ministerial Order 488 directs all regional health boards and B.C. Emergency Health Services to implement overdose prevention services in any place required.

Overdose prevention services are evidence-based harm reduction services that can reduce the risk of death, help connect people to treatment, while also providing an alternative to public drug use. The location of an Overdose Prevention Site (OPS) is determined by public health data and demonstrated need for these life-saving services. The Local Health Area of Vancouver City Centre (Downtown Vancouver, West End, Fairview, False Creek, and parts of Kitsilano) records the second-highest rate of overdose deaths in the Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) region and the second-highest number of calls to B.C. Emergency Health Services (first is Vancouver Centre North, which includes the Downtown Eastside).

Since 2021, the Thomus Donaghy Overdose Prevention Site (TD OPS) has provided life saving services from multiple locations in the same neighbourhood and is the only OPS in Vancouver City Centre available to the public. To date, the site has supported 149,603 visits and responded to 480 overdoses.  

Since the site’s closure in January, a temporary mobile OPS has been operating to provide a very limited number of services in the area. However, this interim solution is unable to appropriately meet the need, and the health authority has been looking for a suitable new location.  

Following an extensive search, RainCity, with support from VCH, has secured a lease to operate the TD OPS at a new location at 900 Helmcken Street. The lease term begins June 1, 2026, and it is anticipated that services will open at this new site soon afterwards.  

This location was identified after a lengthy search and feasibility assessment of all potential sites in the area, including the current St. Paul’s Hospital campus, which lacks sufficient space for a public OPS and is relocating out of the neighbourhood in less than a year. This site took into consideration the years of consultation with various community partners, including the City, because this is a critical service that helps keep community safe while connecting people to life-saving health care.

The new TD OPS location provides a number of benefits, including its proximity to VCH’s Three Bridges Community Health Centre, which provides primary health care, mental health and treatment, and public health services, including outreach teams.