The Portland Hotel Society operates with a mission of cultivating a sense of community and developing affordable housing for underserved and impoverished individuals. Headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, the organization officially formed in 1993 after converting a downtown hotel into a home for homeless individuals within the community. Since then, the Portland Hotel Society (PHS) has participated in numerous housing development projects that focus on converting hotels, apartments, and other multi-unit buildings into homeless shelters.

Completed housing projects subsidize most residents through income assistance, and the majority of buildings offer clinical healthcare and supportive services through 24-hour on-duty staff. Its first project, the Portland Hotel, features 86 one-bedroom units and serves at-risk individuals with concurrent disorders, a trend that PHS continues in many of its more recent housing development efforts. Many developments cater to specific groups, such as families, low-income individuals, or persons with mild to severe physical or mental disabilities that pose a challenge to finding permanent housing.

In addition to its work on housing developments, PHS contributes to a number of other community initiatives that includes partnering with medical clinics, life skills centers, and financial service organizations. The society also invests in community organizations that offer medical services and substance abuse assistance.