Community Supports

The Sea to Sky Community Action Team (S2S CAT) is a community led initiative, funded by the Community Action Initiative (CAI) of the province of British Columbia to address the overdose crisis, save lives, and reduce stigma by working many different community members, including the Squamish Nation, District of Squamish, the Squamish RCMP, Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH), Whistler Community Services, and peers (people with lived experience of addictions, mental health challenges, and stigma).

The intention of this work is to ensure that all voices in our community are heard and recognized as we create community-based solutions to the complex issues of substance use, homelessness, and poverty. We invite and welcome additional community members to join the S2S CAT to create a robust network of care and knowledge.

Please send a message to info [at] shhs.ca if you would like to be a part of the S2S CAT.

The S2S CAT team has been operating since 2021 with regular meetings and has achieved:

• Reduction of stigma throughout the whole corridor with local leaders and service providers through listening, learning, and creating opportunity for partners to connect with people with lived experience of addiction and substance use disorder
• Creation of a peer breakfast program providing morning meals and paid employment opportunities for people with lived experience
• Development of Peer Advocacy program to address issues and offer paid work for community clean-ups, assistance in the Overdose Prevention Site (OPS), and street reach walks to provide services and supplies for unhoused people.
  • We have successfully completed 50 community clean-ups to date!
• Sponsorship of government relations training for the Squamish Helping Hands team
• Monthly surveillance reporting from Vancouver Coastal Health at our local site
• Naloxone training and lunch and learns for community partners and downtown businesses.
  • If interested in booking a session for your team, please contact bkroeker [at] shhs.ca.
• Engagement with the Squamish Nation through ceremony and welcome opportunities
• Commemoration and “proclamation” of International Overdose Awareness Day (IOAD) with events and activities in the week of August 31.
  • In the District of Squamish, proclamations are issued to recognize significant events, organizations, or causes that are of District-wide importance. The process involves a written request addressed to the Mayor and Council.
• regular updates and knowledge sharing of day-to-day and emergent issues
• consistent drug testing at the Overdose Prevention Site (OPS) through partnership with Whistler Community Services

Reducing risks, saving lives—our harm reduction initiatives prioritize safety, education, and non-judgmental care for those navigating challenging circumstances.

Harm reduction saves lives. The Overdose Prevention Site (OPS) was established in Squamish to respond to the drug poisoning public health crisis. By providing on-site care, drug testing, and consumption monitoring, our team gives critical care to those in need.

In 2025, the OPS saw an average of 75 safe consumption visits per day with roughly 10 drug poisonings each month. Our skilled staff reversed 125 toxic drug poisonings at the OPS and an additional 27 at Under One Roof to save people from fatal overdose.

Since the site opened in 2021, it has had 94,460 visits and reversed 527 toxic drug poisonings with no deaths. 

Operated by Squamish Helping Hands in partnership with Vancouver Coastal Health, trained staff and volunteers supervise consumption, test drugs, and provide harm reduction services. These services help reduce deaths, hospitalizations, police interactions and instances of drug-related violence.