The people we serve and work alongside have been facing overlapping emergencies for decades. Amid a housing shortage, toxic drug supply, rampant violations of sex workers’ rights, and over criminalization, COVID-19 adds another fatal layer of consequences to a landscape rife with injustice. Public health guidelines, such as participating in social distancing and staying at home, are not possible actions for many people who are already marginalized by poverty and social exclusion. The intersections of oppressive systems are even more apparent during this global pandemic, highlighting inequities that were already there and making them worse.
We’ve compiled a list of resources that allied organizations, health providers, and government actors have created in response to COVID-19 which may be useful for people who are marginalized in our 4 campaign areas (sex workers’ rights, drug policy, homeless peoples’ rights, and police accountability). Thank you to all the folks whose time and energy went into creating these resources!
General Public Health Guidelines
About COVID-19
BC Centre for Disease Control
General public health guidelines and info about symptoms, prevention & risk, testing, and more. Call: 1-888-COVID19 for information available in 110+ languages.
Self-Assessment Tool
Thrive Health
Use this tool to help determine if you need further assessment or testing for COVID-19.
Stop the Spread of COVID-19 Flyers
TranslationServices.com
Free, printable public health fliers in 30+ languages.
General Legal Resources
Vancouver & DTES:
Legal Referrals and Resources: Updated April 6th in Response to COVID-19
Pivot Legal Society
Legal and community services in the Vancouver area, including contact information and current operating status (i.e. which services are currently unavailable, still available in person, or available by phone only).
Provincial:
List of Changes to BC Advocate Services
PovNet
Advocacy service changes across the province (such as legal clinics and courts).
Legal Questions and Answers on COVID-19
Justice Education Society
Answers to common legal questions arising due to COVID-19 on health & safety, work, housing, family, courts & tribunals, and consumers & money. Includes a live legal help chat/phone line, Mon-Fri 10am-2pm.
Coronavirus: Your Legal Questions Answered
People's Law School
Answers to common legal questions arising due to COVID-19 on work, home, money, consumer, business, and courts & legal services. Includes links to resources in Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Punjabi, French, Farsi, Arabic, Tagalog, and Korean.
COVID Law Hive
COVID Law Hive
Volunteer lawyers and law students to answer your COVID-related legal questions, at no cost to you. Answers available in English, French, Arabic, and Persian.
COVID-19 Special Resources
PovNet
Information on financial, utilities, housing, employment, and health related resources.
Immigration and Refugee Law Questions Related to the COVID-19 Pandemic
Edelmann & Co
Free half hour phone consultations to those who have immigration and refugee law questions related to the COVID-19 pandemic and who are unable to afford the cost of legal services at this time.
How COVID-19 is Affecting the Legal System
Family Law- Legal Services Society
Information on how COVID-19 is affecting legal aid applications, Legal Aid BC services, and court services.
Coronavirus and the Law: Your Questions Answered
Family Law- Legal Services Society
FAQs on issues such as parenting, mortgage & rent, support, and abuse & family violence.
Aboriginal Legal Aid in BC website
Aboriginal Legal Aid- Legal Services Society
FAQs covering COVID-19 related issues important to the Indigenous community including child protection, parenting, and Gladue reports.
Resources for Sex Workers
Vancouver & DTES:
DTES Sex Worker Resource List
Pivot Legal Society
Compilation of resources for sex workers in the Downtown Eastside during COVID-19.
Sex Worker Relief Fund
PACE Society
Sex workers in Metro Vancouver who have been negatively impacted by COVID-19 can apply here for financial relief funds in increments of $100-200 based on need and availability of funds.
Provincial:
COVID-19: Guidance for Sex Workers
BCCDC and BC Ministry of Health
Guidance with a harm reduction lens to help reduce the risks associated with in-person contact in order to keep workers and clients as safe as possible from COVID-19 illness.
National/International:
Sex Work COVID-19: Guidelines for Sex Workers, Clients, Third Parties, and Allies
Butterfly Asian and Migrant Sex Workers Support Network & Maggie's Toronto Sex Workers Action Project
Comprehensive guidelines for sex workers to protect their health and safety from a harm reduction approach during COVID-19, including guidelines to help lower the risk of contact and transmission to those who must continue in-person sex working.
Global Sex Worker Relief Funds
Jane Raider
List of emergency fundraisers set up to support sex workers around the world.
Resources for People Who Use Drugs
Vancouver & DTES:
OPS/SCS Hours and Closures during COVID-19
Community of Practice Overdose Response
Service adjustments to Overdose Prevention Sites and Supervised Consumption Sites in light of COVID-19.
Overdose Response:
Overdose in the Context of COVID-19 Outbreak: Droplet Precautions
Toward the Heart
Overdose response recommendations considering droplet precautions.
Overdose Response in OPS/SCS for COVID-19
Vancouver Coastal Health
Information on overdose management, personal protective equipment (PPE), cleaning protocols, and screening assessment recommendations.
Provincial, Safe Supply during COVID-19:
How to Access Safer Drugs Now
BC/Yukon Association of Drug War Survivors
Infographic explaining how to access medicalized safe supply in BC to slow the spread of COVID-19.
Risk Mitigation in the Context of Dual Public Health Emergencies
BC Centre for Disease Control
Information on health care directives concerning access to illicit substances for drug users amidst COVID-19 and the drug poisoning crisis.
National/International:
COVID-19 Harm Reduction tips for People Who Use Drugs
INPUD & COVID-for-PWUD
Infographic with harm reduction tips.
COVID-19 Harm Reduction Resources
Canadian Drug Policy Coalition
Large compilation of harm reduction resources across Canada related to COVID-19.
Safer Use in Times of COVID-19
Vancouver Coastal Health
Safer use strategies to reduce risk of COVID-19 transmission for dealers and PWUD.
Safer Drinking Tips During COVID-19
Canadian Managed Alcohol Program Study (CMAPS) & Eastside Illicit Drinkers Group for Education (EIDGE)
Suggested ways to make a plan for safer drinking for marginalized drinkers in case of reduced alcohol availability, knowing your risk of alcohol withdrawal, counting your drinks, managing or reducing your drinking safely, buying alcohol, medications, or potential contacts if you need help.
COVID-19 Resource for Young People Who Use Drugs
Youth RISE
Harm reduction information tailored for young drug users. Includes links to resources in French, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish, Italian, Russian, Serbian, Georgian, and Romanian.
COVID-19 – Prévention pour les personnes qui consomment des substances psychoactives
Anonyme
Harm reduction information in French for people who use psychoactive substances.
COVID-19 Guidance for People Who Use Drugs and Harm Reduction Programs
Harm Reduction Coalition
Tips for community-based syringe services and harm reduction providers. Available also in Spanish, Portuguese, and Arabic.
Resources for Homeless and Precariously-Housed People
Vancouver & DTES:
Public Vancouver Emergency Food Services & Community Supports
Limage Media Group
Public Vancouver emergency food services and community supports operating during COVID-19. This map will be updated daily during the pandemic.
COVID Response: Food/Shelter Programs Open in Vancouver
Community of Practice Overdose Response
List of community programs continuing to serve meals and which can provide indoor space for people who may be street-homeless or living in shelters.
Hand-Washing Stations and Washrooms in Downtown Vancouver/DTES during COVID-19
City of Vancouver
Map of public hygiene facilities in the downtown area.
Provincial:
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Information for Unsheltered People
BC Centre for Disease Control
Coronavirus factsheet for unsheltered people.
Guest Bans during COVID-19
Community Legal Assistance Society, First United Church Community Ministry Society, Together Against Poverty Society, Pivot Legal Society
Letter template for tenants to send to landlord, property manager, and/or housing provider explaining that, under the Residential Tenancy Act (RTA), "a landlord must not unreasonably restrict access to residential property by a person permitted on the residential property by that tenant."
Policing Related Resources
Provincial:
Policing the Pandemic: Enforcement of Public Health Orders in B.C. during COVID-19 Pandemic
BC Civil Liberties Association
In BC, police and bylaw officers are not allowed to enforce provincial public health orders, unless they are assisting health officers. They can provide information but cannot ticket or detain you for these violations. Learn more about public health order enforcement power in BC with this resource.
Compliance and Enforcement Guidance about Public Health Orders
BC Centre for Disease Control & BC Ministry of Health
Includes information on what police can and cannot do with regards to enforcing public health orders. "Police officers and C&EOs are not empowered to enforce (i.e. ticket or detain) with respect to public health orders. Their role is to provide assistance only when called upon by a health officer pursuant to section 90 of the Public Health Act (see Appendix 1, pg 10)."
Make a Complaint
Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner
File an online complaint in the instance of police misconduct or abuse.
National:
Intake Form for COVID-19 Tickets & Offences
Canadian Civil Liberties Association
If you have been stopped for information, received a ticket, been charged, or are currently facing any other penalty for failing to comply with the government’s new rules, please consider sharing this information with Canadian Civil Liberties Association. This information will help them identify how emergency orders and laws are being enforced across the country and who is being most affected.
Tracking the Policing of COVID-19 Across Canada
Policing the Pandemic
Mapping project showing patterns of police intervention to help understand who is being targeted, what justifications are being used by police, and how marginalized people are being impacted.
This list is by no means exhaustive and we recognize many of the resources may still be inaccessible to those who need them. This resource will be updated on an ongoing basis. If you have a resource that you would like to be added to this list, please contact getinvolved[at]pivotlegal[dot]org
[Last Updated: Thursday May 22nd, 2020]