DTES at risk of losing only Indigenous-run HIV treatment centre, advocates warn – CBC
Vancouver Coastal Health says services won’t be disrupted but could be moved to a different space
Mar 01, 2018
An Indigenous-run health centre on the Downtown Eastside will soon have to make a bid to Vancouver Coastal Health if it wants retain funding for its unique HIV treatment program.
For two decades, the Vancouver Native Health Society has offered unique culturally sensitive treatment for HIV patients in the DTES by combining spiritual healing, western medicine, and Indigenous staff through the Positive Outlook Program.
But Lou Demerais, the organization’s executive director, says POP’s funding contract with Vancouver Coastal Health ends March 31, and this time around, the health authority is letting other health centres bid to take over the service, rather than renew the contract.
“They’ve told us there’s no guarantee that we’d be the winning bid, even though we have the expertise,” Demerais told CBC News. “We wonder why, after 20 years, they’re doing this, when they haven’t given us real reason for doing it.”
