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...
Some people know from early in their lives what they have passion for. The vast majority however, discover which areas interest them through experience and exploration. For Romit Panesar, a crisis line and leadership volunteer at Distress Centre, an unexpected introduction to mental illness is what drove him to find his passion in life. Romit spent...
Distress Centre continues to support Calgarians by providing 24/7 crisis and 211 phone support, daily chat and ConnecTeen text support. Counselling sessions are being conducted by phone and video. If you need help, please reach out. At Distress Centre, we know how important self-care is, especially as we head into winter. See Jerilyn Dressler's Q3 update...
Distress Centre continues to support Calgarians by providing 24/7 crisis and 211 phone support, daily chat and ConnecTeen text support. Counselling sessions are being conducted by phone and video. If you need help, please reach out. Up-to-date information is critical during rapidly changing times like these. If you are a community partner in the Calgary area...
Image: Volunteers in the Contact Centre in 2006. For many years, Distress Centre volunteer and staff training included presentations by members of what was then known as the GLBTT community. Calls about various aspects of human sexuality and relationships were a staple of both volunteer training role plays and actual calls. It was not until June...
In the sixth month of our COVID-19 response, we continue to support Calgarians by providing 24/7 crisis and 211 phone support, daily chat and ConnecTeen text support. Counselling sessions are being conducted by phone and video. If you need help, please reach out. Since our last update, we experienced an unmanageable increase in contacts from people...
Image: Created from the graphic used in Annual Reports to report on the Men's Line. As the Board and management were looking to broaden services in the early 1990s, clients experiencing potential and actual family violence were requesting counselling in increasing numbers. In 1997, a proposal for a Men’s Domestic Crisis Line was put forward by...
In Week 25 of our COVID-19 response, we continue to support Calgarians by providing 24/7 crisis and 211 phone support, daily chat and ConnecTeen text support. Counselling sessions are being conducted by phone and video. If you need help, please reach out. We’re proud that we’ve been able to support Calgarians through such a difficult time....
On March 17, Distress Centre moved from operating entirely on premises to operating entirely remotely for the initial phase of its emergency operations with no disruption to Distress Centre’s services. Distress Centre’s COVID-19 Response Team and all staff and volunteers have demonstrated an exceptionally high-level of commitment and passion for serving people in crisis and...
Client confidentiality has always been foundational to Distress Centre’s work. Occasionally callers or counselling clients choose to make their stories public, to increase awareness of the service, or help with fundraising. It seems important to include at least one client story, as clients represent the heart and purpose of the work. Many thanks to Judy...
