ABOUT

The Downtown Auxiliory Mobile Services (DAMS) program is operated by the Inner-City Women’s Initiatives Society which is a non-profit organization operating in the Downtown Eastside area of Vancouver.

Organizationally, the Society maintains a full-time staff of three as well as some part-time resources. All staff are directly connected to the DAMS program. The Society has an Executive Director, Linda Dewar, who reports to a volunteer Board of Directors.

The Board of Directors is made up of individuals from a variety of health-related organizations and other professions.

Much of DAMS programming is delivered through or in conjunction with other organizations. We build strategic partnerships with other organizations to build community capacity and maximize our efficiency.

Inner-City Women’s Initiatives Society’s Guiding Principles

• We see women as the experts in their own lives and work with them to reduce the harm associated with their current situations
• We profoundly believe that all women deserve respect, dignity, and the power to make their own decisions
• We strive for prevention rather than crisis intervention
• We see our role as a facilitator and encourage women to help themselves and each other to make positive changes and reduce high risk behaviours
• We follow a case management approach and support women in making their own choices
• We meet women wherever they are most comfortable
• We work in close partnerships with other community organizations to provide a continuum of care and ensure that women have support and access to services as needed
• We never do for one woman anything we cannot, or are not willing to, do for every woman we work with
• We seek to be led by women in the community in all of our endeavours and undertakings
• We serve all women, including those who are coping with the impacts of trauma, gender biases, addiction, oppression, and those who are at risk or who have mental and/or physical health issues

Photo credit: In between the glamour by Kenny Louie is licensed under CC BY 2.0