Get help. Know your rights.
We advocate for the rights of people experiencing unsafe or unstable housing and chronic homelessness, and the rights of people who use substances. No judgment, no barriers — this page is for you or anyone you love.
Need help right now
- Medical emergency or overdose — Call 911
- In crisis, any hour — call or text 9-8-8, or the Interior Crisis Line 1-888-353-2273 (24/7)
- A crisis team that isn't police — 778-470-2725 (CRCL, noon–8 p.m. Mon–Fri)
- Mental health or substance use support — 310-6478 (no area code needed, anywhere in BC)
BC's Good Samaritan law protects you when you call for help at an overdose.
For people who use substances, here are our favourite links and resources
Toward the Heart
BC's harm reduction hub — naloxone training, safer use supplies, and a map of where to pick them up. towardtheheart.com →
Free take-home naloxone kits are available at most BC pharmacies and health units — no ID, no questions. Find a site near you →
Lifeguard app
A free phone app for using alone. You start a timer before you use; if you don't respond when it goes off, it calls emergency help to your location. lifeguarddh.com →
Available for iPhone and Android.
In crisis or thinking about suicide? Call or text 9-8-8 — free, 24/7, anywhere in Canada. For a medical emergency, call 911.
No fixed address? You can still vote.
You have the right
You do not need a permanent home to vote in Canada. Experiencing homelessness does not take away your vote — federal, provincial, or municipal.
Proving where you live
A shelter, drop-in centre, or place you get services can confirm your address with a letter — and the studio can help you get one.
We'll help
Come by 417 Tranquille Rd and we'll walk through registration together. Elections BC → · Elections Canada →
Plain-language rights cards
These are written for BC, in plain language, by the organizations that know this law best. All free to read, download, or print.
With police
What you must say, what you can refuse, and what to do if your belongings are taken. Covers arrest, detention, search and seizure, youth, protest, and involuntary treatment.
The Arrest Handbook (BCCLA, 2023) →
The Arrest Pocketbook → — the short version, made to print and carry.
In a mental health or substance use crisis, you can call a team that isn't police: 778-470-2725 (CRCL, noon–8 p.m. Mon–Fri).
Housing & shelters
If you live in an SRO or supportive housing, BC tenancy law usually covers you — and free help enforcing it exists.
A street guide for SRO & supportive housing tenants → (large file — better on wifi)
Tenant Resource & Advisory Centre → — free advice, and advocates who can represent you.
Not sure whether the law covers where you're staying? It depends on the place — TRAC can tell you.
Healthcare
Treatment explained before you agree, the right to refuse it, to see your own records, and to be treated without judgment — including as a person who uses substances.
Your rights to health care (People's Law School) →
Held under the Mental Health Act? Being detained doesn't erase your rights. Free, independent legal help →
Treated badly? Interior Health's Patient Care Quality Office, 1-877-442-2001, has to respond.
Local services
Kamloops, checked against each service's own listing. Hours change — call first if you can.
Last checked July 2026. Something out of date, or missing? Tell us and we'll fix it.
Overdose prevention site
North Shore Overdose Prevention Site
433 Tranquille Rd — same block as us
250-376-7558
Mon–Fri 9 a.m.–4:30 p.m. (closed 12:30–1:30). Drop in, no appointment. Naloxone and supplies too.
Outreach & housing help
ASK Wellness — STREETS
433 Tranquille Rd
Street outreach, wound care, hygiene and clothing, naloxone training, and a housing outreach team who help you find or keep a place. askwellness.ca →
Food
Kamloops Food Bank
171 Wilson St · 250-376-2252
Open most mornings; days differ for families, singles, and seniors — check the schedule → Bring ID for everyone in your household on your first visit.
Mental health & substance use
Kamloops MHSU (Lansdowne)
100–235 Lansdowne St · 250-377-6500
Walk in and self-refer, Mon–Fri 8:30 a.m.–5 p.m. — no doctor's note needed. Counselling, treatment, and groups. Or call 310-6478 from anywhere in BC, no area code.
Crisis — without police
CRCL · 778-470-2725
Noon–8 p.m. Mon–Fri. A mobile team of mental health workers and people with lived experience, run here by the Kamloops Aboriginal Friendship Society. Ages 13+.
Interior Crisis Line, 24/7 · 1-888-353-2273
Indigenous services
Kamloops Aboriginal Friendship Society
125 Palm St · 250-376-1296
Health, cultural, and support programs. kafs.ca →
Anything else
Call or text 211
Free and confidential. Call, text, or chat, 9 a.m.–9 p.m. weekdays. They know every service in BC — including where there is a bed tonight — and keep it up to date. bc.211.ca →
Not sure where to start? Come to the studio. If we can't help, we usually know who can.