“For most, homelessness is the result of a lack of supports, mental health issues and addiction.”
— Calgary Dream Centre
Calgary Dream Centre’s invaluable mission is to guide men and women caught in cycles of poverty and addiction into lives of purpose. The Centre first opened its doors in 2004 and has been helping homeless men and women ever since. Today, the organization helps over 500 men, women and families every year, making room for hope. Their holistic process encompasses education, spiritual and mental care.
The Calgary Dream Centre aims to address all the issues that cause homelessness, so that people are given the best chance at change. The Centre says, “Over the years, we realized that in order for our guys to have the best chance of realizing their dreams, we needed to create a smooth transition from the streets to a bright future where family and community await.”
This understanding led to the development of the Centre’s multi-phased recovery process, where each phase builds upon the strategies taught in the last. The process takes place in three phases that include addition recovery, transitional housing and long-term affordable housing. In this way, individuals are guided through the steps necessary to reconnect with society, their families and become contributing members of the community.
The Calgary Dream Centre’s core values encompass mercy, compassion, respect, integrity and innovation. These values are foundational to the Centre’s work both on the streets and in their programs. The Centre explains its values like this:
Northwest is proud to support the Langley Memorial Hospital Foundation through legacy giving and special project funding. In 2018, Northwest provided the Foundation with funds to purchase equipment for the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit. The unit invested those funds in NeoPuffs, a system that allows care providers to give better ventilation to newborn babies unable to breathe on their own.
Mercy
Many of our participants have experienced unimaginable abuse, prejudice and neglect as a result of their situation. We believe every human being deserves kindness and love, regardless of the circumstances.
Compassion
Everything we do is motivated by our desire to alleviate the suffering of those most vulnerable in our city. Our hope is that every one of our participants feels safe, supported, and understood.
Respect
We believe everyone deserves respect regardless of their circumstances. We believe that every person has something to offer and we strive to help them realize their full potential.
Integrity
We are committed to integrity and honesty in everything we do, from our interactions with people to the way we run our programs. Through the way we conduct ourselves we teach our participants how to live with integrity as well.
Accountability
We are committed to establishing a system of care that supports our participants in their recovery while preparing them to re-integrate into society. To do this we hold ourselves accountable to using best practices for our programs and hold our participants accountable to working towards becoming contributing members of society.
Innovation
We work tirelessly to find new ways to help people, tailoring our programs and services to fit the diversity of our clients. Where there are gaps in the system we innovate to try to help those who need it the most.
At Northwest, we are strong supporters of the Calgary Dream Centre’s values and mission. We believe in the power of community to instigate change, and we are proud to contribute to the Centre’s efforts to be that change for the homeless. We hope that one day soon the Centre will achieve its goal of ending homeless in Calgary once and for all.
Find out how you can help the Calgary Dream Centre achieve its goals here.
