Hannah Long

Since 2016, British Columbia has been in a state of public health emergency due to the ongoing toxic drug crisis. During this period, demand for substance use services across the continuum of care (from withdrawal management to recovery) has increased substantially. Historically, addiction services in British Columbia have been fragmented, with limited coordination between services, and inconsistent continuity of care for individuals seeking treatment and recovery support. To address these challenges, the Road to Recovery (R2R) initiative was launched by Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) and Providence Health Care (PHC) in September 2023. R2R is a coordinated model of care designed to improve care access, coordination, and quality of substance use treatment across the care continuum for people seeking help for substance use disorders (SUDs). The model integrates a range of services within a structured pathway that typically includes a rapid clinical assessment, bed-based withdrawal management, stabilization, short-term transitional care, community-based aftercare and recovery services, and long-term recovery support. The model is currently being scaled and implemented across the province. Overall, R2R aims to improve continuity of recovery-oriented care, reduce reliance on acute and emergency services, and enhance health and social outcomes for people accessing substance use care. The project will support the evaluation and implementation of R2R in British Columbia.