Recommendations for safe and affordable housing for Indigenous women in the DTES

Build social housing and transition homes

Recommendation 99: Provide Indigenous women with individualized options for housing that supports choice and self-determination. For example, women should have the option to live in or outside of the DTES, for abstinence-based or harm reduction-based buildings, for women-only or housing that includes men, for housing that is with or without increased security and guest rules.

Recommendations to keep Indigenous families together in the DTES

Support Indigenous families

Recommendation 123: Guarantee free individualized support such as culturally appropriate parenting programs; detox on demand; and counselling for mothers with mental health diagnoses, learning disabilities, drug use dependence, and who are survivors of domestic violence.

Recommendations to end criminalization of Indigenous women in the DTES

Recommendation 134: Redirect growing municipal, provincial, and federal police and prison budgets towards solutions that increase safety for Indigenous women such as more housing, child care, income, healthcare, mental health and addictions services, and healing supports.

Recommendations to end criminalization of Indigenous women in the DTES

Policing

Recommendation 142: Ensure that that all policing practices conform to the Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act.

Recommendations to end criminalization of Indigenous women in the DTES

Policing

Recommendation 144: Expand non-policing options for publicly intoxicated people, including civilian-operated 24-hour sobering centres providing appropriate care for Indigenous women.

Recommendations to end criminalization of Indigenous women in the DTES

Legal and judicial reform

Recommendation 151: End the criminalization of people who use or possess small amounts of illicit substances.

Recommendations to end criminalization of Indigenous women in the DTES

Legal and judicial reform

Recommendation 155: Reform the drug treatment court process so as to not require a guilty plea to access the program.

Recommendations to end criminalization of Indigenous women in the DTES

Correctional facilities

Recommendation 175: Increase supports for Indigenous women on conditional release, particularly through income assistance, employment, counselling, and child care. Permit conditional release options that facilitate Indigenous women to be housed with their children.

Recommendations for Indigenous women’s wellness in the DTES

Culturally safe healthcare

Recommendation 187: Reframe mental health and addictions services so they mirror Indigenous women’s social and economic realities and aspirations towards healing.

Recommendations for Indigenous women’s wellness in the DTES

Expanded health services

Recommendation 202: Ensure timely, culturally safe, and evidence-based mental health and addiction services in the DTES, ranging from prevention, early intervention, treatment, crisis care, home visits, and aftercare.