Chez What?

In the Downtown Eastside community, there are a tangible number of homeless people unable to find stable housing or access to decent services.

Many residents face enormous challenges including chronic mental illness, serious physical health problems, severe behavioural problems, alcohol and drug dependencies, and histories of physical abuse and involvement in the sex trade.

This population lives with intense emotional pain, in extreme poverty and dies very young.

It is a group with little social support. HIV in this population is endemic.

A high number are HIV+ and most others would be categorized as extremely high risk.

By its nature, this group does not self-advocate. Most are at high nutritional risk and a shocking number are malnourished.

The Chez What? Program offers hot and take-away meals to this population through a partnership with the Vancouver Native Health Society Positive Outlook Program.