Crisis line volunteer, Shane Stronach, at the Nexen booth in our contact centre. Shane Stronach had been looking for a long-term volunteer opportunity for a while when he came across Distress Centre. Having experienced his own crisis several years ago, he felt volunteering on our crisis lines could be a good opportunity to help out other...
Jeremy Luk, alumni Distress Centre volunteer and registered psychologist. Photo by @rockywanders Growing up, I was always a curious child who was fascinated by the lives of others and in understanding how the human brain worked, so it only seemed natural for me to explore a path in the area of psychology. My first year at...
ConnecTeen staff with Youth Central volunteers at the CT booth. On Sunday, March 12, 2017, the Calgary Hitmen faced off against the Edmonton Oil Kings to take the win, with a final score of 5-2. Thousands of fans turned out to cheer the Hitmen to victory and to support ConnecTeen, Distress Centre’s youth peer support service. ConnecTeen...
ConnecTeen volunteer, Grace Yoon, at the CT booth in our Contact Centre. Photo by Claris Kabasu. ConnecTeen, a program of Distress Centre, provides confidential, non-judgemental peer support to Calgary teens by phone, text, chat and email. ConnecTeen also provides an opportunity for teens to have a meaningful and impactful volunteer experience. ConnecTeen volunteers are aged 15-20,...
In recent years there has been a push to normalize talking about mental health and mental illness to help end the stigma that surrounds it. But sometimes, even if you have the best intentions, you can find yourself floundering when someone confides in you that they’re struggling with their mental health. Previously we created a guide...
Rich Paxton met his wife-to-be, Lauren, when he was playing a show in London, England and had to stay in a different hostel than the rest of his band, due to a booking mix-up. Lauren was staying in the same room and they started hanging out. By coincidence she was going to Edinburgh, Scotland, Rich’s hometown,...
From left to right: Catherine Bell, Presenting Sponsor of our Speaker, Big Daddy Tazz, Jerilyn Dressler, Director of Operations at DC, Joan Roy, Executive Director at DC, and Greg Clark, Leader of the Alberta Party at our Lend An Ear Breakfast in September. 2016 was another difficult year for Calgarians. As the recession stretched into year...
Michelle and her husband Peter Rowbotham at our 2015 Christmas Party. When Michelle Wickerson came in to interview for a position at Distress Centre (DC), what would be her first job in the social work field after completing her bachelor’s degree at the University of Calgary in 2002, her interviewer, Joan Roy, had already filled the...
Gulya Taubaldieva, Fitore Bajraktari and Sarah Xu, all CIWA grads and now DCC staff, with crisis counsellor Edwin Morales (back) helping out at our Lend An Ear Breakfast on September 22, 2016. Every year thousands of newcomers to Canada settle in Calgary. In 2014 we welcomed over 19,000 permanent residents to our city, and by 2020 Calgary’s total...
The Stigma, can you outrun him? Outrun the Stigma was formed at the University of Calgary when Co-Founders Leah Shipton and Amy Li, leaders of the Distress Centre on Campus Club, noticed a gap in the running culture for runs that raise awareness for mental health. In October 2013, the DC on Campus Club, together with the...
