Partners
The Four Pillars Drug Strategy is a comprehensive, integrated strategy for addressing illegal drug use and the drug trade in Vancouver, particularly in the Downtown Eastside. Four main partners at the municipal, provincial and federal levels of government are responsible for coordination and implementation of the Four Pillars Drug Strategy: the City of Vancouver, the Vancouver Agreement, Vancouver Coastal Health and the Vancouver Police Department. The Four Pillars Coalition --a community partnership of more than 60 organizations dedicated to the four pillars approach in the City of Vancouver-- has guided the drug strategy since 1997.

PARTNERS

City of Vancouver
vancouver.ca
The City of Vancouver provides leadership and coordination in the implementation of the Four Pillars Drug Strategy. The strategy was developed by the City of Vancouver and adopted by Vancouver City Council as policy in 2001.

The City of Vancouver is responsible for a range of services that contribute to community and individual well-being and support four pillars implementation, including:
  • community centres, neighbourhood houses and programs in the downtown core (including the Carnegie Centre, the Gathering Place and the Evelyne Saller Centre;
  • affordable housing initiatives (including funding for social housing);
  • community, safety and public order (through funding to the Vancouver Police Department; and
  • enforcement of building, zoning and business by-laws to reduce the impact of drug trafficking and businesses that depend on the drug trade.

For more information, contact Zarina Mulla, Drug Policy Planner, City of Vancouver, fourpillars@vancouver.ca or 604-871-6481.

Vancouver Agreement
vancouveragreement.ca
Cooperation on implementation of the drug strategy and other Downtown Eastside revitalization initiatives is coordinated, in part, through the Vancouver Agreement, an urban development initiative of the governments of Canada, BC and the City of Vancouver, formed in 2000. Through the Agreement, the government partners collaborate and coordinate resources for projects and initiatives to make the city a healthy, safe and sustainable place to live and work for all residents, with a major focus on the Downtown Eastside. The Vancouver Agreement partners work closely together on implementation of all aspects of the Four Pillars Drug Strategy.

For more information, contact the Vancouver Agreement Coordination Unit at info@vancouveragreement.ca or 604-873-7367.

Vancouver Coastal Health
vch.ca
Vancouver Coastal Health is responsible for health policy and services associated with the implementation of the Four Pillars Drug Strategy, in coordination with other Four Pillars partners. This includes integrated work on three pillars - harm reduction, prevention and treatment.

Services the VCH and its contractors provide include:
  • primary health care;
  • needle exchange and the Supervised Injection Site;
  • withdrawal management (detox) and drug treatment programs;
  • counseling;
  • methadone maintenance programs;
  • youth alcohol and drug services; and
  • prevention services.

For more information, contact VCH Media Relations Officer Viviana Zanocco at viviana.zanocco@vch.ca or 604-708-5282.

Vancouver Police Department
vancouver.ca/police
The Vancouver Policy Department (VPD) is primarily responsible for the enforcement pillar of the Four Pillars Drug Strategy, in coordination with other Four Pillars partners. The Vancouver Police Board, under the authority of the BC Police Act, governs the department.

To support the Four Pillars Drug Strategy, the VPD:
  • targets organized crime, drug dealing and drug houses and problem businesses involved in the drug trade; and
  • improves coordination with health services and other agencies that link drug users to withdrawal management (detox), treatment, counseling and prevention services.

For more information, contact VPD media spokespersons Constable Howard Chow at howard.chow@vpd.ca or 604-717-2807 or Constable Tim Fanning at tim.fanning@vpd.ca or 604-717-3679.