Mission Statement
Our mission is to provide for basic needs and to work toward positive
change for women and children in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver.
The Centre
The Downtown Eastside Women's Centre is a drop-in centre established in
1978. For twenty years, the Centre has provided a safe place for women and
children living in a neighbourhood now referred to as Canada's "poorest
postal code".
The Centre provides practical support to enable our membership to survive
conditions of deprivation, ill health, and violence, and encourage them to
make long-term change by identifying and removing barriers to full
participation in the larger community.
Many Downtown Eastside residents experience violence, drug abuse, low
self-esteem, illiteracy, racism and classism. To alleviate the impact of
socio-economic disadvantage we provide for basic needs in conjunction with
long-term support. This is the key to our programming success.
Programming
Providing for basic needs while working toward positive change
The most crucial service we offer to impoverished women of the Downtown
Eastside is a safe place. As a women-only facility we are quite often the
only place where women can go in the neighbourhood and feel entirely safe
from the threat of violence.
Beyond a safe place we offer basic services such as a lunch served daily,
access to donated clothing and blankets, shower and laundry facilities, a
phone designated especially for members, and use of a secure mailing
address for women who are living on the streets or are in between places.
The Centre also offers specialized services including legal advocacy, HIV
outreach, advocacy for women with mental health issues, and programs
dedicated to assisting women with violence prevention, and offering support
to those women who are victims of violence.
How to help
The Downtown Eastside Women's Centre is a Registered Charity # 12989 5959
RR0001. Your tax-deductible donation will make a difference in the lives
of thousands of women and children.
