Image: ConnecTeen volunteers (Amy Li on the right) at the 2014 Calgary Hitmen game in support of ConnecTeen. There would be no Distress Centre without the original group of volunteers, so it seems only fitting that our 50th story focuses on our volunteers. What follows are a few volunteer highlights from 2010 to 2020. In 2011, ConnecTeen...
Image: The Distress Centre staff and volunteer team at Outrun the Stigma 2019. A partnership between many different organizations and individuals created the initial Drug Information Centre in 1970, and partnerships continue to be vital in enabling the current Distress Centre to serve the community. Some partnerships provide financial and personal support, while others provide joint...
Image: 211 staff celebrate with cake after we successfully renewed our AIRS accreditation. The 211 service continued to expand in the last decade. It is still free, multi-lingual, and confidential. Certified Community Resource Specialists answer 211 calls 24 hours a day, seven days a week, helping callers find appropriate services and resources in their community. By...
Image: Joan Roy speaking at our 2014 Lend An Ear Breakfast. The unfortunate passing of Executive Director Carol Oliver brought a period of leadership instability to Distress Centre, until the Board appointed 25-year staff member Joan Roy to the ED position in June 2013. Joan recalls the offer: [caption id="attachment_20871" align="alignleft" width="385"] Joan Roy in 2001.[/caption] “I moved...
Image: The 2018-2019 Board of Directors at our 2018 Annual General Meeting. Over the last decade Distress Centre’s Board has kept to its governance role, with a focus on strategic planning. They defined the organization’s primary role as crisis intervention, and with support from major funders FCSS and United Way, they advocated that Distress Centre’s crisis...
Image: On June 2, 2017, SORCe was honoured with a Community Justice Award from Alberta Justice and Solicitor General. The award recognizes excellence and innovation in community partnerships, in the areas of victims’ services, youth justice, restorative justice and other crime-prevention efforts. In 2013, Distress Centre returned to its 1970 street-level roots by offering a walk-in...
Image: Riverfront Avenue in Calgary after the 2013 flood. Photo by Ryan Quan. In 1970, the idea of a two-day concert with accompanying sex, drugs and rock and roll was considered enough of a pending disaster to cause the formation of the Drug Information Centre. In 2013, Calgary faced an actual disaster, with major flooding...
Image: Distress Centre staff at the 2019 United Way Parade. Distress Centre has always depended on corporate, government and private funders in order to fulfill their mandate in the community. In 2019, for example, 40 organizations provided major funding to DC, many of them long-term partners. To list all those who contributed over 50 years would...
Image: Distress Centre counsellors in 2017. The professional qualifications for Distress Centre counsellors have increased over 50 years, as has the complexity and number of clients they see. Less than 300 sessions in 1970 became 1,650 in 2010 and 2,900 in 2019. The majority of referrals now come from an online web form which was created...
Image: Jerilyn Dressler (middle) accepting the City of Calgary Award for Community Advocate Organization in 2018. With Mayor Naheed Nenshi (left) and Ward 10 Councillor Ray Jones. Photo courtesy of the City of Calgary. At the start of 2010, no one could have predicted that Distress Centre would be delivering services off-site during a pandemic in...
