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Though physically located in the upscale neighbourhood of Kerrisdale, Pacific Spirit Community Health Centre greets a much wider audience than might be seen strolling past the fine art stores, exclusive boutiques and five dollar lattes just two blocks away on West 41st Avenue.

“It’s not uncommon for us to see a homeless patient and a stably employed patient in the same day,” said Mark Haden, an addiction specialist and the supervisor of the addiction services program at Pacific Spirit. Haden explained that the health centre’s service area stretches from Oak Street to the University of British Columbia, resulting in a demographically diverse patient base with a wide range of health needs showing up at the Kerrisdale location.

Administered by Vancouver Coastal Health, the centre provides a variety of services at little or no cost to eligible patients in an attempt to address many health needs in one building. Informational leaflets, both in English and in some cases Mandarin, touching on everything from diabetes care to tips on how to quit smoking cover the walls of the waiting room.

According to Haden, all VCH community health centres offer addiction services that prescribe to a comprehensive, five tiered approach: prevention work with youth, counseling for families, individuals and couples, methadone, needle-exchange programs and at-home detox programs. Quoted in an article published on endprohibition.ca, Haden admitted that there were concerns amongst the community about the safety of the needle exchange program, but “that needle-exchange service has been in place for more than six years and I can honestly say that we have never had any of our fears materialize.”

While the needle-exchange program at Pacific Spirit is not highly used in comparison to the numbers at some of the other community health centres, Haden did say that figures vary anywhere from five exchanges a month to upwards of 30 exchanges.

Some might wonder just how far the walk from West 41st Avenue to 2110 West 43rd Ave. really is.

For more information on services and locations, visit Vancouver Coastal Health’s website at vch.ca.