If someone is in immediate medical distress, call 9-1-1. For non-emergency help with shelter, housing, income, identification, health referrals or other practical needs, Vancouver’s Homelessness Services Outreach Team accepts weekday walk-ins at 392 Powell Street. The team is separate from Carnegie Community Centre and can connect people with services that fit their situation.
This guide explains which service to use, what each option does and does not provide, how weather-response spaces work, and where supportive-housing applications are handled. Hours, shelter vacancies and weather activations can change, so confirm current details before travelling.
What should I do first if someone is homeless or sleeping outside?
Choose the response based on urgency:
- Immediate medical distress: Call 9-1-1. This is the route for a life-threatening illness, injury or other medical emergency.
- Service navigation or practical help: Contact the City of Vancouver Homelessness Services Outreach Team. The team provides referrals and assistance with housing, benefits, identification, shelter and health-related supports.
- Concern about someone sleeping outside: The City’s outreach page says, “If you are concerned about someone sleeping outside in Vancouver, do not hesitate to connect with the team.” No individual speaker is named on that page.
Outreach is not an emergency ambulance service and a shelter bed is not guaranteed. Use 9-1-1 for medical emergencies, then use outreach or 3-1-1 for ongoing navigation.
How do I contact Vancouver’s Homelessness Services Outreach Team?
Walk-in office
The storefront office is at 392 Powell Street, in a location separate from Carnegie Community Centre. Walk-ins are accepted Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; no appointment is required. The office is closed on weekends and statutory holidays.
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Telephone contacts
- Office: 604-665-3318
- Outreach cell: 604-968-1825
Because municipal hours and phone coverage can change, call before making a long trip when possible. If a person cannot safely wait or travel because of a medical crisis, call 9-1-1 instead of waiting for outreach hours.
What to bring
The City does not require an appointment for the walk-in office. Bring any identification, benefit letters, housing paperwork, medication information or contact details that are available, but do not delay an urgent request because documents are missing. Outreach staff can help with identification applications and safe storage.
What services can the outreach team provide?
The outreach team is a practical entry point rather than a single shelter or housing provider. Staff can help with:
- Exploring housing options and completing housing applications.
- Tenancy-retention support for people trying to keep an existing home.
- Applications for income assistance, Employment Insurance and pensions.
- Referrals to shelters.
- Identification applications and safe storage.
- Referrals to health care, counselling, clothing, detoxification and addiction services.
- Immediate first aid, emotional support and harm-reduction supplies.
These are services or referrals described by the City; availability depends on the provider, current capacity and the person’s circumstances. Ask the worker to explain the next contact, opening hours and any documents required so that a referral does not end with an unanswered phone number.
Where can I find a shelter in Vancouver tonight?
Vancouver’s shelter system has several types of spaces. The City directs people to the BC 211 Shelter List and its winter-response information for current locations, opening status and availability. Listings can change during the day, so check the current list rather than relying on an old address or assuming a bed is open.
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| Option | Purpose | Operating period | Beds or mats? | How to find it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Permanent shelter | Overnight shelter as part of the regular system | 365 days a year | May provide beds; confirm with the individual shelter | Check the current BC 211 Shelter List or ask outreach |
| Temporary year-round shelter | Overnight shelter in a temporary facility that operates throughout the year | 365 days a year | May provide beds; confirm current capacity | Check BC 211 listings |
| Temporary winter shelter | Seasonal overnight shelter during colder months | Nightly from November through the end of March | Designed for overnight stays; confirm vacancies and intake rules | Use the City’s current winter-response information and BC 211 |
| Extreme Weather Response (EWR) space | Extra protection during dangerous weather | Alert-activated | Usually an indoor response space; confirm what the specific site offers | Follow current City weather alerts and BC 211 updates |
Operating dates describe the City’s program guidance, not a promise that every site has a vacancy. A shelter operator may set its own intake procedure, hours and accessibility arrangements. Outreach workers can help identify the most appropriate open option.
What is the difference between a shelter, an EWR space and a warming centre?
Shelters
Shelters are overnight accommodation options. Permanent and temporary year-round shelters operate every day of the year, while temporary winter shelters operate nightly from November through the end of March. Ask the listed operator whether a bed is available and what check-in requirements apply.
Extreme Weather Response spaces
EWR spaces open when conditions create a serious risk for people who are outside. The City’s criteria include temperatures near zero accompanied by rain that makes it difficult to stay dry; sleet or freezing rain; snow accumulation; sustained high winds; temperatures at or below 0°C or a 0°C wind-chill “feels like” value; rainfall of at least 50 millimetres in 24 hours; and Environment Canada alerts, warnings or storm watches. These are activation criteria in the City’s guidance, not a guarantee that every criterion will trigger a particular site on every occasion.
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Warming centres are separate from shelters. They provide a warm place to get out of severe cold but do not provide beds or mats. The City says they activate when temperatures reach -4°C or feel like -4°C or below. If someone needs a place to sleep, check shelter or EWR listings instead of assuming a warming centre offers overnight accommodation.
Before travelling, check current City alerts and BC 211 information. Weather decisions and available spaces are time-sensitive.
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Where can someone get food, washrooms, mail pickup or a daytime place to go?
The City’s resource information points to free or low-cost food, groceries and clothing programs. Carnegie Community Centre lists several practical services:
- Mail pickup.
- Public washrooms.
- Drop-in space.
- A message board.
- Free Wi-Fi.
- Low-cost cafeteria meals every day of the year.
Carnegie’s programs and services require an annual $1 membership. Confirm facility hours, current programming and availability before relying on a particular service. The outreach office at 392 Powell Street is not the same facility, so use the correct address when seeking a referral or Carnegie service.
How do I apply for supportive housing in Vancouver?
The City does not administer supportive-housing applications. Applicants should use BC Housing for current application instructions, eligibility information and status questions. There is no single universal eligibility rule or wait time stated across the City’s public information, so do not assume that one application or one estimate applies to every building.
What supportive housing means
Supportive housing combines affordable housing with on-site support, such as life-skills training, and links to off-site primary health, mental-health or substance-use services. It is intended for people who need more than a rent-only tenancy, but the specific supports and intake process vary by building and operator.
The City’s supportive-housing webpage reports approximately 8,000 units in Vancouver, including permanent supportive housing, temporary modular housing, supportive single-room-occupancy buildings and repurposed former hotels. The page does not provide a measurement date for that approximate inventory, so it should not be treated as a dated count or a statement about current vacancies.
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A practical application sequence
- Contact BC Housing and read the current supportive-housing application instructions.
- Gather the identity, income, housing and support information the current form requests.
- Ask the City outreach team for help if completing forms, replacing identification or organizing documents is difficult.
- Keep confirmation numbers, copies and updated phone or email details.
- Report changes in contact information or housing situation to BC Housing as instructed, because an unreachable applicant can miss a request or offer.
The outreach team can help with applications, but it does not replace BC Housing’s application process or decide who receives a unit.
What is the STEP program?
Supporting Tenants Enabling Pathways (STEP) is for people already living in Vancouver supportive housing who are stable, ready for greater independence and seeking an affordable independent home. It is voluntary and referral-based, and it also allows self-referral.
What STEP helps with
The STEP housing team can assist with planning, housing applications, eligible transition expenses, the move itself and follow-up after the move. “Eligible” expenses are subject to the program’s rules; ask the STEP team what can be covered before committing money.
The City says STEP clients have a 90% one-year retention rate. The City page does not identify the cohort period, so this figure describes the clients covered by that program measure and should not be generalized to all supportive-housing residents or all tenancies.
Who should ask about STEP?
Someone already housed in a Vancouver supportive-housing site who wants a less-supported, affordable independent home can ask a housing worker about referral or self-referral. A person who is unsheltered or applying for housing for the first time should start with BC Housing and the City outreach team instead.
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What if I need a service that is not listed?
BC 211 Redbook
The City identifies BC 211’s Redbook as an online directory of programs and services for homeless and under-housed residents. It is useful when the need involves food, clothing, health care, counselling, legal or community supports and the right provider is not obvious. Check each listing for its current hours, intake rules and location.
Vancouver 3-1-1
The City contact service can be reached at 3-1-1 or 604-873-7000. Listed call-centre hours are weekdays 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and weekends and holidays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Use 9-1-1 rather than 3-1-1 for immediate medical distress.
How to make a referral easier
- State whether the need is urgent, same-day or ongoing.
- Give the person’s current location and a safe way to receive a call.
- Explain mobility, accessibility, language, medication or safety concerns that affect which service can work.
- Ask whether the service is open, accepting new people and able to provide the specific item needed.
- Write down the organization, contact person, time to call and any reference number.
How large is the outreach response?
The City’s report on the 2025 Homeless Count says its Homelessness Services Outreach Team served 6,539 unique individuals in 2025, with approximately 90 to 100 unique clients per day. These are outreach-team service metrics. They are not a count of every person experiencing homelessness in Vancouver and should not be read as the citywide homelessness total.
What should I verify before travelling to a service?
Service information is especially vulnerable to changes in hours, vacancies, weather activation and staffing. Before leaving, verify:
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- Whether the office, shelter or centre is open that day.
- Whether the site is closed for a statutory holiday or has changed its hours.
- Whether a shelter or EWR space has capacity and what identification or intake steps it uses.
- Whether a warming centre is operating and remember that it has no beds or mats.
- Whether transportation, accessibility and storage arrangements meet the person’s needs.
- Whether a referral is still active and which phone number should be called on arrival.
If conditions become medically dangerous while waiting, call 9-1-1. For non-emergency navigation, start with City outreach during weekday walk-in hours, BC 211’s current shelter and service listings, or 3-1-1 during its published call-centre hours.
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