Indigenous Health Outreach (IHO)

Indigenous Health Outreach (IHO) is an Indigenous-specific outreach service.

Leading with cultural safety in an Indigenous Relational and strengths-based approach to care, IHO supports unhoused or precariously housed people in the Downtown Eastside (DTES) community in Vancouver with complex mental health and/or substance use challenges and connects them to cultural supports and health services, including existing MSHU programs and primary care services. IHO includes an Outreach Doula service which provides perinatal outreach care, and an Indigenous Youth outreach service specific to Indigenous youth. IHO is an outreach service and the team travels to a person’s location. It is not an emergency service and is notfor people who are actively putting their own lives, or the physical safety of others, at risk. 

In addition, IHO provides:

• Connection to Indigenous cultural and spiritual supports. 
• Case consults to embed cultural practices, interventions, and spiritual care into care planning.
• Perinatal outreach care.
• Indigenous Youth Outreach services.
• Biopsychosocial support, connection, and compassion.
• Supporting the client with experiences of being unhoused and health system navigation.
• Support and collaboration with VCH teams in their relationships with self-identified Indigenous clients with experiences of being unhoused and connection to VCH services. 
• Guiding VCH teams on ensuring the delivery of culturally safe services and supporting the practice of humility.