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Stable housing critical to kicking addiction say users, experts (SPH)

Protesters march for affordable housing on Vancouver's Downtown Eastside in August. Many protesters were living in a homeless camp at Oppenheimer Park where drug use was rampant. (Photo Credit: Maggie MacPherson/CBC)
Protesters march for affordable housing on Vancouver's Downtown Eastside in August. Many protesters were living in a homeless camp at Oppenheimer Park where drug use was rampant. (Photo Credit: Maggie MacPherson/CBC)

Richard tried several addiction recovery programs before he kicked his opioid habit at the Union Gospel Mission on Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.

A major reason it worked this time, he says, was that the Mission’s program offered him a welcoming place to stay.

Across town, at St. Paul’s Hospital on the city’s west side, a doctor with front line addiction experience makes a strong medical case for providing addicts with stable housing.

Click here for the full story on CBC News. Dr. McLean’s interview begins at 8:15 minutes.

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