Outrun the Stigma is an annual 5k walk/10k run that was founded by two University of Calgary students, Leah Shipton and Amy Li, who noticed a gap in the running culture for runs raising awareness for mental health. In October 2013, the DC on Campus Club and the Mental Health Awareness Club, organized the first Outrun...
As Canada’s largest bank, RBC is one of the largest corporate donors not only in Canada but around the world. On a global basis they are one of North America’s leading diversified financial services companies. The RBC Youth Mental Health (YMH) Project is RBC’s commitment to support mental health programs that help youth and families access...
In 2016, Distress Centre Calgary responded to 113,975 phone calls, emails, chats, texts and requests for counselling. People from all walks of life reach out to us for support day or night- parents, professionals, teens, teachers, seniors, to name just a few examples. What we know is that you can't judge a person's situation by...
David Granirer, a comedian, counsellor, speaker and author, headlined our Lend An Ear Breakfast. On the morning of September 21st, 2017, we gathered in the beautiful Odd Fellows Hall for our 7th Annual Lend An Ear Breakfast. Comedian, David Granirer, from Vancouver, BC, headlined the morning. He is a stand-up comic, counsellor, mental health speaker and...
“If you give someone with a mental illness something they really want to do, they will make it happen.” Distress Centre is thrilled to welcome David Granirer, this year’s headliner for the Lend An Ear Breakfast. David hails from Vancouver B.C. and is a stand-up comic, counsellor, mental health speaker and author. At the age of...
Last year Distress Centre Calgary responded to 113,975 calls, emails, chats, texts and counselling requests from people in distress. From January 1st to July 31st, 2017 suicide presented on 3,925 calls which is 8.5% of our total call volume to date. On our online crisis service suicide presented itself on 19% or 956 chats, emails...
The teen years are a stressful and challenging time. Teens deal with a lot. They have heavy school workloads and many work part-time jobs or juggle extracurricular activities and sports. They experience relationships starting and ending, and many struggle with their body image, depression and anxiety, or experience bullying from their peers. That’s why teens need...
18-year-old Jasper has conquered more boundaries in one year than he ever thought was possible. Jasper arrived at Distress Centre Calgary in May 2017, as a first year social work student from Mount Royal University. As a new social work practicum student, Jasper was both eager and anxious to begin his two-month placement, and with...
Carol Markusse, a successful business professional, was enjoying life with her husband and two children. Carol thought she had it all. She had obtained her undergraduate degree in business and later completed her Masters of Business Administration from Devry Institute of Technology in Calgary. Although her life seemed complete, Carol was unsettled and felt that...
On June 1st, 2017, we introduced Jerilyn Dressler as our new Executive Director at Distress Centre. Jerilyn grew up in a small community in Saskatchewan where there were few resources available in her community for those who needed mental health or addictions support. This inspired her to pursue an undergraduate degree in Psychology and a career...
