Last year, we made 127,747 connections. We want to create a Calgary where everyone is heard.
Volunteers
Crisis Centre Volunteer Hours.
110 new volunteers were onboarded and completed online crisis intervention training.
100% of our volunteers say they use their volunteering skills outside of DC with their family, at school, work and in the community.
$409,570 was saved on salaries thanks to our crisis line volunteers.
It is sad when your only friend is Distress Centre, but for some regular callers, that is it. The calls I support on the Canada Suicide Prevention Service, are very satisfying, because people are in crisis and you can help them. As a volunteer you get joy from making people’s day better.
- George, 14 year volunteer
Crisis Support
crisis connections made.
of all online contacts identified suicide as a top concern.
emergency interventions were supported by Distress Centre. This was a 16% increase from 2019.
of surveyed users reported a stable or reduced level of distress at the end of their chat sessions.
As someone who lives with mental illness I want to send a huge thank you to each and everyone of you because I have been that someone on the other end of the call. Thank you for saving a space in your life to help people that may not ever have had someone to care enough about or bother with.
– Anonymous
ConnecTeen
calls, chats, emails and texts.
We have confidential 24 hour phone peer support for youth and teens as well as daily chat and text, and an interactive website.
decrease in overall contacts because there was no engagement with schools during COVID.
of ConnecTeen and crisis conversations were suicide related.
Over the last couple of months, my daughter who has struggled with mental health issue for years has been texting and calling Distress Centre on and off late at night. I sleep much better knowing that you are there for her.
– Anonymous
Counselling
counselling sessions were completed.
increase in counselling intakes from 2019.
number of average new counselling intakes per month.
of clients at the end of counselling say they are better able to cope with what brought them into counselling.
We have a cool opportunity, all of us on the team, to think creatively about how we do the work and to consider letting go of things that were not working well in the first place. Everybody is thinking innovatively about how do we make the most of this service, and how do we respond to what the clients are looking for.
– David, Clinical Services Manager
Partner Agencies Support
contacts were answered to support our partner agencies.
- This includes contacts we answered on behalf of Family Violence, Bullying Help and The Way In and the 24/7 Canada Suicide Prevention Service line.
- We connected 43,355 callers with the community resources they need.
- We saw a 5% increase in contacts we answered on behalf of Family Violence, Bullying Help and The Way In.
- We saw a 27% decrease in calls answered on behalf of the 24/7 Canada Suicide Prevention Service line due to losses in our volunteer pool due to COVID-19.
Basic Needs Fund (BNF)
was distributed through our Basic Needs Fund to individuals and families needing support for eviction notices, utilities and damage deposits.
of surveyed clients reported the Basic Needs Fund helped stabilize their personal crisis.
increase in the amount of funds disbursed from 2019.
CAA, SORCe and Financial Empowerment
clients were supported by the CAA team.
- SORCe (Safe Communities Opportunity & Resource Centre) is a multi-agency collaborative resource centre that connects people who are experiencing or are at-risk of homelessness, to programs and services that can help to address the barriers to stable housing.
- Our Financial Empowerment Program finished 2020 with a total of $192,000 in tax related benefits to our clients.
- Housing assessment volumes increased by 8%.
- We had a 95% quality of service score.
- During COVID-19, we added five new programs: Housing Location Program, ID Replacement, Mental Health Crisis Intervention, Client Advocacy, Basic Needs and Harm Reduction Supplies.
I find it very easy to work with the Housing Strategist team as they are all very accessible via email…they are quick to respond and book intake appointments. Thank you for all you do!
– CAA client
211
calls, chats, texts, emails & follow-ups.
increase in contact volume over 2019.
increase in follow-up calls completed.
of surveyed callers indicated they would use 211 again.
Connecting with Calgarians in crisis. You never know who might need support. It could be someone you know. Help us keep up with the growing need for all our services.
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