When Kate Billett was 16-years-old she made a decision to pursue social work. “I wanted a career where I could help people,” says Kate. “I developed a passion for crisis line work and mental health, so that’s what ultimately drove me into social work.” Originally, Kate thought she wanted to be a teacher, but her high...
A few months ago, Peter Oxland, a crisis line volunteer at Distress Centre Calgary, answered a call at 2:30am and heard a faint whisper on the other end of the line. “The young girl eventually shared that she had had Distress Centre’s telephone number for nine months and had finally got the courage to call,” Peter...
There are many ways to describe Distress Centre Calgary counsellor, Edwin Morales. Most people would describe Edwin as compassionate, enthusiastic, and driven. However, if you ask him, there is one unique word that can summarize him entirely: Perspective. Although, this word is not common to describe someone in their entirety, the word couldn’t be more...
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...
Ian* lost his job in early 2016 and has been unable to secure long-term employment since then. Adding to the stress of not being able to find work, Ian has health problems he's been dealing with for months. He lives with excessive pain and is feeling hopeless. As a father to three, he worries about no...
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...
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,...
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...
