There are many quotes that describe the contribution a volunteer makes, from

“Nothing liberates our greatness, like the desire to help, the desire to serve.” 
Marianne Williamson

“Without volunteers, we’d be a nation, without a soul” 
Rosalynn Carter

“Here’s to all volunteer, those dedicated people who believe in all work and no pay.” 
Robert Orben

 

A mix of heart felt sentiment and clichés abound in describing the impact volunteers have on the collective nonprofit they offer their time to supporting.

I believe in volunteering and, like volunteers I oversee at Alpha House, I offer my time when I can to agencies and groups that mean something to me. Like helping at a casino or giving time to a meditation group I support. Like volunteers at Alpha House, it helps me to balance out my lived experience and to feel alive within the body politic. It is self-serving as much as it is other-serving; a way of relating and being present in the world, an openness to being responsive and caring.

I have been involved in volunteering and with volunteers since I worked at Volunteer Calgary, and in my first social work job at what was known then as AIDS Calgary. In the late 70’s and early 80’s, volunteering was then both an activity and about activism, and I valued that side of volunteerism that encouraged community engagement. I took this approach to my later assigned role as Volunteer Manager at Alpha House. This blog reflects some thoughts on this role and some of the volunteers I have worked with.

Volunteers at Alpha House compliment staff and never replace them in their work. Our staff are very astute and caring and, in my experience, do not flinch in taking on tasks that are in service of a client. Volunteers as Board Members have been present since the inception of Alpha House as a response to those with alcohol and other drug dependencies in Calgary. Likewise, we have had self-help group volunteers and various faith and corporate groups that have supported us over the years. What I have enjoyed witnessing the most are people with lots of passion, volunteers and staff that have made space for each other and have worked together. Here are some examples of what I mean.

Bertha joined us in 2008 while we were in a period of renovation. Bertha and her family started a small soup kitchen in the shelter for shelter clients. She not only provided soup and sandwiches but came and served the shelter clients as well. This was a new venture for us and volunteers and staff made it work smoothly. Later, this initial intention would evolve into our present day Shelter Daily Meal Kitchen that still encourages volunteer support when available. Later, Bertha also began a monthly music group for Detox clients. A cacophony of healing sound was generated from the musical instruments that Bertha and her friends provided for each session. It became a favorite experience for clients especially when being surrounded by drums that immersed the person in healing heart like beats of caring. Bertha was a sentinel of openness and inclusiveness. We lost Berth during the pandemic but her presence can still be felt by those that knew her or experience her smile and welcome.

Another volunteer who made a difference was a young man newly sober and in a step program who wanted to give back to Alpha House. I will leave him anonymous but when I first met him he had five years of sobriety, and I cautioned him that although he wanted to volunteer in detox, that many in step recovery often grew frustrated with clients for whatever reason who were taking baby steps rather than the leaps known in some step programs as essential to recovery. He immediately offered to stay fast for a year and I took him on as the first Detox Mentor. Over that year he grew in the estimation of both clients and the staff as he worked in various roles from making beds to escorting clients to and from the in house clinic and under staff guidance a relapse topic presenter to the clients as a group. In many ways he lived rather than talked about his experience, strength and hope and gave me an understanding of what our volunteer as a Detox Mentor could offer. More importantly he gave me insight into how lived experience can benefit our clients and that the voices of those with lived experiences are needed at Alpha House in the many ways they materialize. He helped open the door to view clients as potential volunteers.

Advocates for client support groups also came to Alpha House through the volunteer route. Mary-Anne and Cate were two such women. We had met as volunteers at Lougheed House Gardens and got to talking at break one day. I was overseeing a project where clients volunteered and watered Lougheed House Gardens and other City Parks Department gardens on hot summer days. Mary-Anne and Cate got to know some of the women that came with me. Mary-Anne and Cate proposed a group for women with the goals of providing a safe place to talk openly (without men present) and where learning from the experience of other women could be highlighted. The group has evolved over the last ten years now inviting many women to explore often for the first time to learn how self help groups can benefit them. Cate remains a facilitator of the women’s group and Linda is now her co chair.

This is an opportunity to mention that staff started an interactive support group for shelter women around the same time, a beautiful expression based on the harm reduction approach of sisters doing it for themselves and not without them. Unfortunately, it didn’t survive the pandemic. Both groups are examples of meeting needs of people as they arise and supporting them as they stepped out of their usual comfort zones. Both groups helped women find safer passage to recovery orientated groups that have been a mainstay at Alpha House, like AA. NA, CA.

A more recent story involves community engagement from the volunteer side. A young couple who saw our ad in their elevator in the building they were renting an apartment in, responded by coming over for a tour and eventually volunteering in our Kitchen Helper positions. For several years they have been faithfully booking time on their Sundays to help prepare Sunday Lunch to our clients in detox and shelter. Recently they announced that they are moving to another city for new job opportunities. We will miss them and the neighbourly goodwill they brought to our work. ‘Creating Community for Everyone’, is an Alpha House catch phrase. Volunteering is its expression in real time.

Today volunteering at Alpha House has a strong team feel. We follow accreditation Canada standards by recognizing the need to protect our vulnerable clients and to ensure our volunteers are aware that their presence matters as part of our collective care. So no matter what task a volunteer is involved in they are asked to consider the merit they give to the client directly or indirectly in the doing.  Moving forward I hope this blog is a reminder that community engagement and volunteering are ever changing and vital to Alpha House and those we serve.

 

Written by David Burke, Volunteer Manager at Alpha House Society

 

‘Tis the season for giving, and what better way to get into the giving spirit than by following along and joining in with us as we explore the many Ways of Caring available for those looking to do a little something for vulnerable individuals in Calgary! We’re very excited to be launching our Ways of Caring Campaign for a 3^rd year in a row; from December 1^st to the 31^st, across all of our social media platforms, we will be sharing different ways you can support Alpha House, our clients, the addiction and homelessness sectors, and other non-profits in the Calgary area.

It’s not all about giving money to our programs, or donating in-kind items for our clients (although, you’re more than welcome to offer your support in those ways); We recognize not everyone is in a position to give monetarily or physically, which is why this campaign will highlight a myriad of ways you can support your community with varying degrees of involvement. The Ways of Caring campaign is designed to be accessible, unique, and engaging— whether you’re looking to be very involved with your act of kindness or you’re looking to offer your support from the comfort of your own home, we’ve got you covered!

Alpha House has been doing the ‘Ways of Caring’ campaign for a couple of years now, because we love giving people the opportunity to show how much they care about social issues in the city and we are continually blown away by the number of people wanting to be a part of our community of giving! Ways of Caring originally started as “12 Ways of Caring”— a play on the classic holiday song titled 12 Days of Christmas. As we continued with this idea, we found that there were many more than 12 ways to do good in the community around the holidays, so we’re bringing you TWENTY-ONE meaningful Ways of Caring for the month of December. Participate in 1, participate in 5, participate in all 21! Whatever and however you choose to engage, we appreciate you coming along with us this holiday season.

In advent calendar fashion, we will be UNVEILING a new WAY of caring on select days in December Follow our social media channels to make sure you don’t miss a day!

However, and in whatever way you can help will make a difference.

Happy Holidays!

National Housing day exists in Canada to remind each of us of the importance of affordable housing for all. If you are lucky enough to never have had to worry about shelter for you and your family, it can be easy to overlook the barriers faced by so many and the critical nature of having safe, affordable housing.

 

National Housing Day aims to provide more advocacy for people experiencing homelessness within Canada, and serves to remind us that there is much to be done to make sure that all Canadians have access to affordable and safe housing. Current estimations suggest 235,000 Canadians may experience homelessness in a given year. Many people experiencing homelessness have multiple barriers to gaining affordable housing, such as lack of consistent or adequate income, mental or physical health issues or substance use addictions.

 

It has become more and more clear over the past decade that Canada is facing a housing crisis. Growing costs of housing and a strong demand with insufficient supply has led many Canadians, unable to afford market prices, to become entrenched in unsafe or inadequate housing units, or to become unhoused. In Calgary, the average house price is $553,300, and market prices for apartment rentals are currently averaging $2,178. These prices are often unaffordable for so many and, as a result, it becomes more and more likely that individuals, couples, and families will be forced to stay in unsafe housing situations, places that don’t meet their needs, or risk becoming unhoused.

 

Alpha House Society works alongside other homeless-serving and housing agencies in Calgary and within the Calgary Homeless Foundation’s Housing Strategist programs to transition people experiencing homelessness into housing. Alpha House offers two different types of housing programs: permanent supportive housing (PSH) sometimes called Place-Based Housing (PBH) and Community (Scattered-Site) housing. Alpha House’s PSH program is made up of seven different apartment buildings throughout Calgary. Each offers individual case management and goal setting, as well as group programming case, supporting each resident to improve their circumstances by learning new skills, reducing harm related to substance use, and establishing and creating community for everyone.

 

Alpha House’s Community Housing program supports clients to transition towards independent living. Clients in the program are housed within the community with their own units and sign their own leases. Caseworkers support clients with intensive case management to help with basic short and long-term needs and reduce the likelihood of re-entry into homelessness.

 

There is a vast array of needs when it comes to housing and, to ensure stability, it is critical to meet those needs with a spectrum of housing options; matching needs with services. In the homeless-serving sector, housing options are critical to reducing barriers for individuals who are rough-sleeping, struggling with mental or physical health challenges, and dealing with substance use addiction

 

Alpha House believes foremost in a Housing First approach to solving homelessness –  without barriers and without exception – providing housing regardless of an individual’s personal circumstances and, as an agency, our continuum of programs work to meet individuals where they are at, determine what type of housing would suit them best, and support them in transition.

 

National Housing Day exists to remind Canadians that every person deserves a home, four walls and a roof. Many Calgarians are feeling firsthand the impacts of the housing crisis. aware of how the housing crisis. The City of Calgary Council recently passed a strategy with the goal of ensuring every Calgarian has an affordable place to call home. This strategy has five main points: 1) increase the supply of housing, 2) support affordable housing providers, 3) enable the City’s housing subsidiaries to improve service delivery, 4) ensure diverse housing choice, and 5) address the affordable housing needs of Indigenous people. This strategy was adopted on September 16, 2023 with implementation plans stretched out over 2024-2030.

 

Federally, Canada has also implemented a national housing strategy which includes investing 40 billion dollars into different housing strategy targets, such as a 50% reduction of emergency shelter stays by those chronically homeless, 385,000 community housing units protected, and another 50,000 units created through an expansion of community housing. Alpha House knows the importance of safe, supportive, and affordable housing and we stand with all agencies, government bodies, and developers who are working towards Housing for All.

 

Written by Alpha House Staff (Amy Sutherland)

 

Government of Canada. (2017). Canada’s National Housing Strategy: A place to call home. https://eppdscrmssa01.blob.core.windows.net/cmhcprodcontainer/sf/project/ placetocallhome/pdfs/canada-national-housing-strategy.pdf

 

City of Calgary. (2023). Home is here, the City of Calgary’s housing strategy 2024-2030. https://www.calgary.ca/communities/housing-in-calgary/housing- strategy.html#:~:text=Home%20is%20Here%2C%20The%20City%20of%20Calgary’s%20 Housing%20Strategy%20was,office%20conversions%20to%20support%20students

 

Alpha House. (2023). Housing Program. https://alphahousecalgary.com/how-we-help/housing- program/

 

Homeless Hub. (2021) How many people are homeless in Canada. https://www.homelesshub.ca/ about-homelessness/homelessness-101/how-many-people-are-homeless-canada

 

Average house price in Calgary. (2023, October 16) The Canadian Magazine of Immigration. https://canadaimmigrants.com/average-house-price-in-calgary/ #:~:text=The%20average%20house%20price%20in,over%20year%20in%20September%2 02023

Cultural Supports at Alpha House

This Saturday, marks Canada’s third National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. The day honours the missing children and survivors of residential schools, as well as their families and communities (Heritage, 2023). Indigenous peoples make up roughly 45% of our clientele, many of whom have first-hand or intergenerational trauma associated with residential schools. As such we recognize the importance of reconciliation and cultural integration in the healing process for those clients, and the importance of providing opportunities for Indigenous activities and programming.

Practices encouraging cultural connection/reconnection in addictions treatment improves client’s wellness in all areas. Cultural programming addresses wellness in a holistic sense, offering a different approach than the Western model of medicine (Rowan et al., 2014). Holistic supports consider all potential factors contributing to well-being, which includes the physical, spiritual, mental, and emotional wellbeing of an individual.

Alpha House is lucky to work with Elders, Knowledge Keepers, Indigenous Support workers, and Peer Support workers throughout our programs to provide cultural supports for clients. Providing these resources to clients can provide direction and help individuals gain a sense of identity, which are important tools in sustaining recovery.

One of the ways we provide cultural supports is through our Cultural Connection Camps.

Cultural Connection Camps are an important part of Alpha House’s cultural programming, providing both Indigenous and non-Indigenous clients with the opportunity to connect with their heritage and the community, and reconnect with the land. Clients from our Detox, Housing, or Shelter programs can sign up to attend a staff run trip to a 3-night, 4-day camp. Camp activities include:

• Tipi raising and painting
• Building a sweat lodge
• Cultural teachings and stories
• Scraping elk hides
• Horseback riding
• Crafts (talking sticks and/or dreamcatchers)
• Campfires

The sweat lodge ceremony is an integral part of our cultural programming, being a part of our regular weekly programming as well as the cultural connection camps. The sweat ceremony is a ritual where participants enter a dome-shaped structure that is heated by pouring water onto heated rocks to create steam. This is meant to heat up the interior in order to encourage the sweating out of negative energies and toxins (Gadacz, 2006). In our cultural connection camps, participants build sweat lodges from the ground up before participating in the ritual; this is usually a highlight for many participants, finding fulfillment in working together as a team toward a common goal. Here’s what a few of the clients that participated in our last cultural connection camp had to say:

“Well structured and eye opening, I haven’t experienced something like this in years. It was great as a group to assemble the tipi and rebuild the sweat lodge. The nature was something we were all craving and the people and staff who attended were all very helpful and respectful. There were activities such as bean bag toss, horse shoes and campfire songs. Being able to help gather the wood for the fire for the sweat and the willows for the rebuilding of the sweat lodge was a great feeling and a sense of belonging. I would recommend it to anyone who attends detox who wants to reconnect with their spiritual side especially if they felt spiritually bankrupt like I was before the trip. Thanks, Alpha House you rock! Keep up the good work. “

• Paul

“Having the opportunity to learn how to put together a teepee was a great learning experience. There was team work which I as an individual am new to dealing with will only lead to more willingness to be involved with group activities. I never knew how rewarding being a part of something bigger than myself could be. I enjoyed taking part in building a sweat lodge. Chopping wood was also another amazing experience I have never done that before. The camp showed me how you can do things sober and actually enjoy them. I am grateful for Alpha House and the support they offer. I would not have the courage without the help of Alpha. “

• Christopher

“My experience was different for me as we worked as a group it was nice to see all of us work together as a tribe as we were building a new sweat lodge and changing teepee skin and so many other tasks like wood gathering, chopping, clearing bushes, food etc. and experience the sweat it self along with prayer in another culture. Overall, it was a great experience and would recommend or even go again if I could even though the first day was a mud bag we all manage to pull it together and it made me feel a lot better about myself through my recovery. The sweat was refreshing and hot and my experience has been new and refreshing body and mind. I learned to pray not only but realized how much I should have loved my self and others and the ground we walk on, the air we breathe. It is not recognized as much as we should and I’m grateful for the experience so I’d like to thank Alpha House staff and Brad and fam for letting me experience such a beautiful thing and I recommend to all people that are in recovery or not to try out. Thank you so much. Me, myself will keep going to sweat and Wellbriety as much as I can and whenever the opportunity is there. It has really made me think and change a lot of thing in my life and surroundings and mind. Thank you. “

• Tommy

Cultural supports are available for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous clients so everyone can experience the spiritual, physical, mental, and practical benefits of this programming on their recovery journey.

Recovery is a difficult journey to take on alone. Providing clients with the opportunity to discuss what’s on their mind and tackle obstacles in a group setting is invaluable in supporting individuals towards recovery. Through engaging in activities like building a tipi in a group, traditional ceremonies, and storytelling, individuals are given the opportunity to reflect, strengthen their connection to the physical and spiritual world, and rediscover their identity and place in the community. This is a powerful motivator, and can be the important piece for an individual to sustain their recovery.

 

 

Rowan, M., Poole, N., Shea, B., Gone, J. P., Mykota, D., Farag, M., Hopkins, C., Hall, L., Mushquash, C., & Dell, C. (2014, September 1). Cultural interventions to treat addictions in indigenous populations: Findings from a scoping study – substance abuse treatment, prevention, and policy. BioMed Central. https://substanceabusepolicy.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1747-597X-9-34#citeas

Gadacz, R. R. (2006, February 7). Sweat Lodge. The Canadian Encyclopedia. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/sweat-lodge

Heritage, C. (2023, September 26). Government of Canada. Canada.ca. https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/campaigns/national-day-truth-reconciliation.html

Seven Permanent-Supportive Housing buildings – seven welcome signs. Each sign was a labour of love; designed, cut, built, and painted entirely by hand, with a unique concept and design created specifically for each building. The way our clients got involved in the painting of each sign made all of the work worthwhile. We owe a big thank you to the staff who made this possible and our clients, who responded to the project with so much care and enthusiasm. As well, a tremendous thank you to Activate YYC for choosing Alpha House as an ActivateYYC grant recipient. See pictures below:

 

 

The Calgary Tower lit up in honour of International Overdose Awareness Day

Time to Remember. Time to Act.

International Overdose Awareness Day is the world’s largest annual campaign to end overdose, remember without stigma those who have died and acknowledge the grief of the family and friends left behind.

The campaign raises awareness of overdose, which is one of the world’s worst public health crises, and stimulates action and discussion about evidence-based overdose prevention and drug policy.

The campaign also acknowledges the profound grief felt by families and friends whose loved ones have died or suffered permanent injury from a drug overdose.

International Overdose Awareness Day spreads the message about the tragedy of drug overdose death and that drug overdose is preventable.

The goals of International Overdose Awareness Day are:

• To provide an opportunity for people to publicly mourn loved ones in a safe environment, some for the first time without feeling guilt or shame.
• To include the greatest number of people in International Overdose Awareness Day events, and encourage non-denominational involvement.
• To provide information about the issue of fatal and non-fatal overdose.
• To send a strong message to current and former people who use drugs that they are valued.
• To stimulate discussion about overdose prevention and drug policy.
• To provide basic information on the range of support services that are available.
• To prevent and reduce drug-related harm by supporting evidence-based policy and practice.
• To inform people around the world about the risk of overdose.

Sources:
Penington Institute (2023). About the Campaign.

Worldwide

• There is an international crisis of drug overdose. Over the last twenty years drug overdose deaths have increased significantly in many parts of the world. Each year a record number of deaths are reported, predominantly driven by the misuse of opioids, often in combination with other drugs including benzodiazepines, stimulants and alcohol.
• In 2020, an estimated 284 million people – one in every 18 people aged 15-64 – had used a drug in the past 12 months, a 26 per cent increase from 2010.
• Opioids account for two-thirds (69 per cent) of drug overdose deaths. The estimated number of people using opioids globally has doubled from 26-36 million people in 2010 to 61.3 million in 2020. There are currently multiple ongoing opioid overdose epidemics in the world; one is driven by the increased presence of the synthetic opioid fentanyl in the United States and Canada, while another in North Africa, West Africa, the Near and Middle East and South-West Asia is due to the non-medical use of the synthetic opioid tramadol.
• Some of the new drugs available today – most notably synthetic opioids and amphetamine-type stimulants – are more dangerous than their counterparts were 20 or even 10 years ago. There were 1,127 new psychoactive substances reported in 134 countries and territories between 2009 and 2021. Opioids are the fastest-growing and most harmful group of new psychoactive substances – there were 87 different types recorded globally in 2020, an increase from just one in 2009.

 

Sources:
Penington Institute (2022). Global Overdose Snapshot.
UNODC (2022). World Drug Report 2022.

 

Canada

• There was a total of 32,632 apparent opioid toxicity deaths between January 2016 and June 2022.
• A majority of deaths occurred in British Columbia, Alberta, and Ontario; high rates were also observed within other regions.
• In 2021, fentanyl was responsible for 87 per cent of opioid-overdose deaths in Canada. Of the accidental stimulant toxicity deaths during the year, 62 percent involved cocaine, while 55 percent involved methamphetamines.

 

Source:
Government of Canada (2022). Health Infobase.

Recognizing Those Who Go Unseen.

As an agency committed to providing safe and caring environments for those whose lives have been affected by alcohol and other substance addictions, Alpha House acknowledges both the importance of IOAD and this year’s theme, “Recognizing Those People Who Go Unseen”.

Overdose alters the lives of those who experience it, as well as those around them. This includes the family and friends who grieve the loss of their loved ones, workers in support services and healthcare who tirelessly commit themselves to providing safety and stability to those around them, and first responders who provide emergency, life saving care under traumatic circumstances.

This is a crisis that we are all in together, and on this day, we amplify the voices of those individuals in our communities who often go unrecognized.  We acknowledge their strength, compassion, and care as an example to us all.

Today, we say to them: “We see you.”

 

 

We’re standing in Alpha House’s Cultural Room, a relatively new space we created for client programming. The wall at the entrance of the space has recently been prepped and primed for today’s project and Brandon and Dave, from the Dream Centre’s Woodshop Program are looking forward to getting started. This project has been several months in the making.

Alpha House has commissioned the Dream Centre’s Woodshop Program to create a memorial wall for those lives that have been lost to addiction. Brandon has been with the woodshop for 2 years; Dave: 1 month but it’s a project meaningful to people on both sides.

“This one is a little bit different than the normal projects. I always wanted to do something like this with the dream centre but that hasn’t worked out yet.”

Brandon says he’s enjoyed working on the project; he went through the Dream Centre’s Addiction Treatment program over 3 years ago so it mattered to him to make sure the design was done right. “When I originally did the quote it was with cheaper wood, but as we started mapping it out, we decided to use something that had more weight and substance to it cause of what the project was about.”

The design was important to Alpha House too. We provided foundational imagery for Brandon and his team – we wanted the butterfly represented, a long standing image Alpha House has aligned with, because it symbolizes not only the fact that we all go through change in our lives, but also that we can experience periods of darkness and still come out the other side to something beautiful. The tree felt like the best way to represent that we are all connected to eachother and to the land; the leaves a way to remember each name.

Brandon and his team added their own elements as well. “We had Alpha House’s example to go off of and we incorporated the butterfly as well, but we also wanted to have unique elements.” The idea to use different woods for the leaves (including ash and oak) was a way of creating individuality while still having unity. “We also added a round over to each of the leaves – which we hadn’t originally planned to do – but it added more substance and made a really nice effect overall.”

It feels especially meaningful to have these considerations and personal touches as part of the design for a project memorializing a life. No plan ever goes exactly the way you think, Brandon adds, but there were processes that came about during the creation of the design that added more meaning, which was particular important for everyone involved.

“You’re trying to represent people. Once you really start thinking about it – it’s not like it’s an accent wall in someone’s house.
Once you realize what it’s about you put more thought and heart into it”

Finishing in time for International Overdose Awareness Day wasn’t planned, but this too adds a poetry to the project we couldn’t have predicted. Alpha House has been caring for those with addictions since 1981; the memorial wall was a passion project of ours and we are so grateful to have had the opportunity to bring it together in this way. In an ideal world, we would never have to add another name but until public policy catches up to the realities of addiction, we will hold space in our hearts, our memories, and now here.

Looking back 10 years later on the 2013 floods

I’m sitting in a boardroom at Alpha House’s Community Housing and Administration building with 3 longtime Alpha Staff. Each of them was a big part of Alpha House’s initial (and ongoing) response to the flooding that washed away most of Calgary’s downtown in June of 2013. I sat down to hear from them about their experiences and recollections on this 10-year anniversary. We hope you enjoy stepping back in time with us to June 2013 in Calgary, AB and journeying with us through some of the challenges and memories from that crazy 6 months when Calgary was temporarily transformed and the real spirit of community was shown.

 

2013. JUNE. CALGARY, ALBERTA

Alpha House has been in operation for over 30 years but, for the most part, we fly under the radar. We work with a subset of the homeless population through our Shelter, Detox, Housing, and Outreach programs but….things aren’t quite the same in 2013 as they are today. We’re a staff of only 40 (now over 300) with 1 DOAP Team (now 5 teams rebranded to ‘HELP’ and 3 other outreach programs), and only 2 housing buildings (now 7).

Our Shelter still housed 120 beds in June of 2013 as it does today but it was only about 50% full when a Fire Marshall showed up at Alpha House Society on a beautiful, sunny, now infamous day around 5PM to deliver some bad news.

ENTER JADE W, then Shelter Team Lead, who was the one on-site that day to receive the ominous news:

“You need to evacuate your building.”                 

To which, Jade, said, politely, incredulously…. “To where?”

Well… the ‘where’ would be a somewhat unknown answer for several days and, as it turns out, weeks over the course of the summer of 2013.

 

THURSDAY. 20 JUNE 2023. 1700 HOURS. CALGARY ALPHA HOUSE SOCIETY

Take me back to that first moment when the Fire Marshall showed up and told you to evacuate – what were you thinking? What happened? When did you realize this was going to be significant for Alpha House and its clients?

“Well, I didn’t think it was going to be. It was a beautiful sunny day, there wasn’t any visible signs it was going to be a long-term thing. I was Team Lead in the Shelter then and, I remember, there was some disagreement about whether we were going to evacuate. The Fire Marshall is telling me we have to leave and I’ve got one of our Managers behind him saying ‘No, we don’t.’ And I’m trying to figure out a possible evacuation and kind of freaking out and when I asked the Fire Marshall where we were supposed to go, he said ‘you need to go home’ and I remember saying ‘they have nowhere to go; this is their home.’

“This is their home”

 

THURSDAY. 20 JUNE 2023. 1800 HOURS. CALGARY ALPHA HOUSE SOCIETY

Calgary Police Services reports to Alpha House to inform staff there would be a bus arriving in 15 minutes to take everyone to the Calgary Drop-In Centre.

“I was supposed to be off at 6PM,” Jade shares, “but I was there till about 9PM and the new team had come on and we’re trying to get everyone on the bus.”

What was the plan? You said you weren’t thinking long-term but were there any plans put in place?

“Well-no,” Jade says, truthfully. “There were mats still on the floor – we left everything because we didn’t know. We thought we would be back. We were still trying to come up with a game plan because we really didn’t know where we were going or for how long. The one really good thing we did do was empty our parkade of our DOAP vans – which ended up being probably the best thing we did that night.”

Kathy C, then (and current) Executive Director of Alpha House, remembers being one of the last people in the building.

“I remember standing in the Shelter – and that was one of the only times the building has ever been empty – and I kept going out on to the street and just standing there, looking left and right…and just…looking..”

“It was so nice out still.”

“No one knew what was coming.”

 

THURSDAY. 20 JUNE 2023. 2200 HOURS. CALGARY DROP-IN CENTRE

Heavy rainfall on the melting snowpack in the Rocky Mountains combined with steep, rocky terrain caused rapid and intense flooding in southern-Alberta watersheds. The City of Calgary transformed virtually overnight.

Another evacuation happened at the Drop-In Centre overnight as their East Village location was also impacted. The Drop-In Centre had another building off McKnight where they evacuated their people.

Alpha House staff and clients were not evacuated with them. “We didn’t know where we were going to go then,” said Jade.

 

FRIDAY. 21 JUNE 2023. 0200 HOURS. CALGARY, AB.

As the waters rushed towards Calgary, The City issued a flood warning, activated the Municipal Emergency Plan, declared a state of local emergency and gave an evacuation notice for communities at risk.

Alpha House, to this day, serves an incredibly vulnerable community – those who are continually at risk because they are without housing. In a parallel with the COVID-19 pandemic that would shut down the City of Calgary in a different way 7 years later, the 2013 flood would affect those who did not have access to safe housing (outside of the flood zone) most.

The city basically split down the river – if you were on one side, you could access things on your side of the river. “I remember,” says Karen S, Team Lead at one of Alpha House’s 2 housing buildings at the time, Francis Manor, “the five of us [team leads/managers] were on a conference call/ group chat all night because we weren’t sure when we needed to go – when we were going to be needed or where or how. I called Nicole (then Shelter Manager) and said ‘I’m going’ – and she said ‘how? You can’t’ – and I just said ‘I’ll get there.’

“It was a feeling of ‘we’re going to get it done’ –whatever needs to get done”

 

 

FRIDAY. 21 JUNE 2023. 0700 HOURS. CALGARY, AB.

There were a number of spaces setup for people who had been displaced. One of those was Central Memorial High School.

Jade started her day at Francis Manor. “This was before we had staff cell phones so we were using our personal phones and trying to figure out what to do for our clients as we had no building. The DOAP team were packing vans and taking clients to where we were told to go at that time [central memorial HS].”

ENTER MARIANNE, then Shelter Team Lead. “I’m at home and I get a call from Nicole – she said ‘do you think you can get to Central Memorial High School.’ I wasn’t really even aware of what was happening in the neighbourhood because where I lived was unaffected. But I grabbed my backpack and my skateboard (cause I wasn’t sure how far I was going to be able to drive, a pillow (in case I needed to sleep in the car) and I got to the high school.”

Central Memorial High School was not just Alpha House clients and staff though.

“It was chaos,” says Marianne. “I remember I walked in and one of our staff handed me the staff directory and printed staff schedule and that was all we had of Alpha House – those 2 things.”

There had been a lot of movement in the last 12 hours throughout the city and, of course, particularly in the affected areas. Central Memorial was teeming with evacuees, City of Calgary CEMA staff, Alberta Health Services and the Red Cross.

 

“Only a few clients though,” remembers Marianne.

Alpha House had moved all its Detox clients to our housing building, Madison Place, finding ways to accommodate a lot more individuals than the building was built for. It was a rush of coordinating staffing and scheduling, trying to figure out where people were going to go and if they could get there and, more importantly, how to get to our clients.

“We had all our vans going downtown looking for our people,” Jade explains. “They were spending the entire day collecting folks – who were coming out of all sorts of hiding places downtown.”

“We rescued about 100 clients that way”

At some point early on Friday, with Marianne organizing staff with one phone, one directory, and a lot of chaos, Jade, Kathy, and, Finance Manager Vivian, decide they need to get to Alpha House’s Shelter.

“We weren’t supposed to be going back down there. Past a certain point, downtown was blocked off. You could see Alpha House at the end of the street and we ended up getting a ride in from this massive truck that was ferrying people who were stranded on the spiral [the Victoria Park/Stampede Train Station].”

The Shelter was a mess. As staff could hardly have expected the situation Calgary was about to be in, they hadn’t taken anything on evacuation. The rescue mission Jade, Kathy, and Vivian embarked on was to pick up some essentials: cheques, gift cards, supplies, and anything that might help setup a temporary shelter.

 

 

FRIDAY. 21 JUNE 2023. 1700 HOURS. CALGARY, AB.

It was more and more apparent as Friday June 21^st dragged on, that Alpha House was not supposed to be at Central Memorial High School. “We were eventually told we had to move to Village Square. Red cross had setup Village Square as yet another evacuee space,” says Marianne.

ENTER KAREN, then Team Lead at Alpha Housing Program, Francis Manor.

On the right side of the river, Karen is there to meet the buses coming from Central Memorial High School, standing alone in front of the concrete steps.

“I’m waiting there and all of a sudden, the buses are coming in and I’m looking everywhere for our people – because it wasn’t just Alpha House – Inn from the Cold and the Mustard Seed all had clients coming – so I’m trying to direct our people to the spot setup in Village Square for us.”

“They [the Red Cross] did such a good job; it was a great setup; the clients loved it”

 

SATURDAY. 22 JUNE 2023. 0700 HOURS. VILLAGE SQUARE LEISURE CENTRE.

In what would become the start of a great deal more awareness and appreciation for Alpha House’s Outreach services, the DOAP team is out supporting Calgary Police Services with evacuations and rescues. They had rescued over a hundred of Alpha House’s clients the day before, but they were still out looking for people in the flooded downtown. And at Village Square, Karen is leading Alpha staff.

“It was pure chaos in some ways,” says Karen, “because all of these people are coming and going; there are 3 organizations with their staff and clients; police everywhere; people on the grass; community members are showing up trying to give food and clothes……. “But we didn’t have HMIS systems then.” jumps in Marianne, the database homeless-serving agencies use to track case management for clients, “so we had no way of checking people in and out and there were people everywhere.”

“Clients were going into withdrawal – because they couldn’t get downtown to get their substance of choice”

The temporary shelter at Village Square lasted one week.

 

 

SUNDAY. 23 JUNE 2023. 0700 HOURS. VILLAGE SQUARE LEISURE CENTRE.

Summer camps at Village Square kicked out the agencies using the space for temporary shelter. Canada Day long-weekend camps were starting and the centre had to be back up and running.

“We couldn’t stay there anyway,” says Karen. “Police were bringing complaints from community members because they weren’t used to seeing our clients out wandering in the community. We were dealing with a whole bunch of people who were trying to be helpful, but there were no systems in place.”

“And while we were working in the different locations, some of our staff were staying in the same evacuation shelters we had been supporting clients in,” adds Marianne.

Eventually, a committee was established to advise on what was going on in the city and to capture what supports were needed and how they could be provided. And, as part of this process, several locations are proposed during the time spent at Village Square.

But there was nothing very suitable.

There was a warehouse in Bowness – no running water and no electricity. Kathy remembers Nicole on the other end of the phone, having just toured the bare bones of a virtually empty concrete building, crying, saying, “It’s horrible; we can’t do this.”

Another possible location: the Holy Redeemer School in Forest Lawn. Not then used as a school for many years.

Karen remembers spending a long time mapping out the space – “how we were going to check clients in, what the flow was going to be, where was the staff desk going to go, where would the supplies be stored, how would clients move through the space safely.”

Within 24 hours, a petition had come from the community to prevent Alpha House from setting up at the holy redeemer school.

 

FRIDAY. 28 JUNE 2023. 0700 HOURS. CALGARY, AB.

“That was a panicky 24 hours,” remembers Marianne. “I got a call from CEMA saying ‘you won’t be going to the school, but you can’t stay here.’ I called Karen and just said, “We aren’t going to the school, they don’t have a place for us.”

Within that 24 hours, Alpha House toured locations, mapped out the school as a temporary shelter, mapped out and setup what would become the next destination, Max Bell Centre, and then also toured a further location because it was already known Max Bell would be yet another very temporary solution.

“That [at Max Bell] was the best week of the whole flood”

Stampede still happened in 2013, a defiant tag line ‘Come Hell or High Water,’ telling the world a little (or a lot of) water wasn’t going to stop Calgarians from coming together.

“They still did fireworks every night,” Karen reminisces, “clients and staff would go out on to the rocks [in the Max Bell parking lot] and watch the fireworks. It was the most beautiful scene.”

One particularly memorable day of that week at Max Bell, Alpha House staff brought BBQs in on the backs of pickup trucks, a staff member got free food donated from her other place of work, and, overlooking the city, Alpha House had its own Stampede event. “It was probably the best one we ever had,” says Karen.

There were still challenges – one of the larger ones, literally, was the sheer size of Max Bell, finding ways to block off areas and close off different sections, lock doors and use whatever was available to make the space manageable, safety wise, for clients and staff.

 

SATURDAY. 7 JULY 2023. 0700 HOURS. MAX BELL >>> CALGARY SCIENCE CENTRE

“The Science Centre location was an ongoing work in progress,” Jade shares. “It was so big, it had no showers, it was raining inside” (yes, you read that right).

“There was definitely a lot of stress in our daily meetings,” says Karen, “It was a constant question of ‘how are we going to make this work.’ The bathroom was so far away. We had to post 2 staff down the hall just to get clients down the hallway.”

“And the staff bathroom was outside,” Jade jumps in, laughing, “which was fine…except it was stainless steel….and it was late October/November.”

A trailer was used for showers for clients and there were extremely limited laundry services – courtesy of a dry cleaners in….Kensington. “There was a lot of driving back and forth,” says Karen.

But there was no shortage of creativity and staff ingenuity to keep things operating. “Once we got to the science center, we knew we were there for awhile, and we just made it work.”

“The showers worked, the bathrooms worked, Jesus Loves You gave us their kitchen to make food, and we thought this is just what we’re dealing with and we’ll deal with it.”

 

 

OCTOBER 2023. 0700 HOURS. CALGARY ALPHA HOUSE SOCIETY.

When you started going back into the building what was that like?

 “Going back into the empty building was really creepy,” Marianne says immediately. “It was strange,” agrees Karen. “And it was sad cause it was empty, and everything was damaged and after 4 months of chaos and all the other locations, we were going to be starting over again, again”

“Definitely bittersweet,” Jade adds, “it was a lot; we went through a whole lot, it was trying for all of us”

What was the feeling among staff while you were navigating these challenges? Motivated?

 “Very motivated in a lot of ways,” Karen agrees, “everyone was exhausted; everyone was working so much overtime, but we all showed up every. damn. day.”

How long till things felt a bit normal?

“Right away”, Jade says immediately, “we had our systems back; we got very good at putting a shelter together quickly.”

 

JUNE 2023. 1100 HOURS. CALGARY ALPHA HOUSE SOCIETY.

Looking back on the 2013 floods, there is a clear theme that emerges, which most of Calgary would likely agree with. The community stepped up. In so many ways. There was a significant amount of scrambling, and a lot of chaos and confusion, but there were so many helpers and no shortage of people and groups and partners who were ready to step in and support. There are a few that stand out for us:

• Our own clients making room for other vulnerable individuals, such as our Veteran’s adapting to all our Detox clients taking up residence in their building, sharing supplies and common areas

• CUPS Calgary didn’t ask anything from us and gave us free rent, office space, keys to their building; they saved our bacon as we didn’t have any long term resources and the damage to the building was substantial. They welcomed us there for 7-months and we were not a small group

• Community members – donating and volunteering and being so helpful supporting not just Alpha House but all of the groups and community members displaced by the flooding

 

Thank you for walking back in time with us. We are grateful for the way we came together as a community in 2013 and believe it made our teams stronger. Stay dry this month, Calgary!

Standing Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia

By Dawn Lemieux

 

Canada is becoming increasingly diverse. According to Statistics Canada, one million Canadians identify as belonging to the 2SLGBTQ+ community (2022). While Canada has made moves toward equality, such as same-sex marriage and new protections for gender identity and expression written into the Canadian Human Rights Act, we still have a long way to go in combatting the homophobia, transphobia, and biphobia that is prevalent in society, schools, and other institutions.

 

Statistically, 2SLGBTQ+ people experience real danger on a daily basis since they are more likely to be physically or sexually assaulted or to sustain injuries as a result of aggression than those who are not 2SLGBTQ+. Alarmingly, 59% of 2SLGBTQ+ people in Canada have been physically or sexually assaulted since age 15, a drastically larger proportion than their cisgender and heterosexual counterparts (Statistics Canada, 2022). Homophobia, transphobia, and biphobia can also take on more subtle forms of discrimination, including microaggressions and online harassment. Folx with intersecting identities, particularly those from racialized groups, can face double or triple forms of discrimination. One of the most vulnerable groups in our society are 2SLGBTQ+ youth who make up between 25% and 40% of unhoused youth in Canada (Statistic Canada, 2022). Whether overt or subtle, all forms of discrimination have negative and lasting implications on an individual’s mental health and well-being. When a person’s mental health and wellness declines, they are more likely to turn to alcohol and other substances to cope with feelings of stress, anger, loneliness, and sadness.

 

May 17^th marks the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia. On this day, people around the world band together to celebrate diversity, disrupt hate, and stand against injustice toward 2SLGBTQ+ people. Everyone deserves to be treated fairly and to live a life free of fear. What next steps can you take to help create a safer, more inclusive society?

 

• Commit to developing a critical consciousness. Begin by reflecting on your own positionality in relation to dominant culture and the power and privilege that comes from your identity markers. An essential part of becoming more critically conscious is understanding that everyone has prejudices or biases due to the stereotypes they’ve absorbed during their upbringing and through consuming media. These prejudices are not always conscious, and it takes real work to unpack them in order to identify misconceptions about folx from the 2SLGBTQ+ community. You can also commit to learning more about the International Day of Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia and 2SLGBTQ+ identities by browsing the resources on https://may17.org. Learn more about queer topics by exploring books, shows and documentaries, and podcasts by people from the community. Consider grabbing a friend or two to attend Calgary’s queer film festival in June, hosted by the Calgary Queer Art Society.

 

• Break free of your comfort zone. In an increasingly divided society, it can be tempting to stay quiet and take a neutral stance when complex issues come up in conversation or when you witness an act of discrimination. Remember that standing against injustice is almost never a comfortable experience. Bravely challenge hate-filled comments by reorienting them to focus on equality and equity. Staying silent is what allows injustice to continue.

 

• Break down binaries and use inclusive language. It often seems that we live in a ‘two-choice’ society, where binaries such as hot/cold, up/down, Black/White, male/female, and gay/straight are the norm. Embrace fluidity by bending, blurring, or breaking society’s binary codes and welcoming words, actions, and people who do not fit neatly into categories. Language matters! A simple way to use inclusive language and help others feel safe and validated is by respecting their pronouns. Do not feel overwhelmed by the terminology related to gender identity and sexual orientation. If you aren’t sure about a person’s pronouns – just ask. A thoughtful way to go about this is to share your pronouns first. Do not use the term ‘preferred pronouns’, as it suggests that using a person’s pronouns is optional. If you make a mistake with a pronoun, apologize quickly, and move on.

 

• Celebrate the heroes of equality-seeking groups and observe days of awareness. Take time to learn about and acknowledge 2SLGBTQ+ leaders and heroes of past and present, such as Harvey Milk, and pay tribute to the important days of awareness for the 2SLGBTQ+ community, including the International Day of Trans Visibility (March 31^st) and the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia (May 17^th).
• Consider donating to 2SLGBTQ+ organizations and charities. Calgary’s End of the Rainbow Foundation is one organization that creates sponsorship circles, hosts support groups, and provides education to help 2SLGBTQ+ people settle into their homes and communities. Donations to the End of the Rainbow Foundation directly assist 2SLGBTQ+ people, including refugees, in emergency scenarios to obtain safety and support. Check out https://endoftherainbow.ca for more information.

 

When we embody love and acceptance, we can disrupt the intolerance, discrimination, and violence directed toward 2SLGBTQ+ people in our local and global communities. We all have a role to play in creating safe and caring communities for everyone.

 

 

References:

Statistics Canada. (2022). Standing against homophobia, transphobia, and biphobia. Ottawa, On. https://www.statcan.gc.ca/o1/en/plus/1294-standing-against-homophobia-transphobia-and-biphobia

 

 

 

Alpha House is so very lucky to work with a cohort of nurses in our Shelter, Detox, and Permanent-Supportive Housing programs. Our in-house nurses provide care, comfort, compassion, and critical medical supports for a group historically underserved and oft discriminated against in healthcare. Check back here to hear from some of our incredible nursing staff about their work for National Nurses Week 2023!

Angela Shanahan

How long have you been a nurse? Since 2012

What drew you towards pursuing nursing as a profession? I wanted to work in the public, in a healing position, so it just seemed to fit.

What inspired you to focus your work on homelessness and addictions support? I’d been working in long-term care my entire career and just wanted a change, so I applied at Alpha House and I love it here. I love this demographic.

What do you love the most about your work? Seeing success is the most rewarding. And my team! I work with an amazing team.

Can you share a favorite story or impactful moment you’ve had with a client since you’ve been with Alpha House? I guess just seeing everyone who leaves Detox and moves onto a treatment center. They change so much in 10 days, it’s like they’re a completely different person. I think it’s very rewarding to see them getting healthy, and they’re always very thankful for all that we’ve done for them

Evelyn Nyangaresi

How long have you been a nurse? I just started. I graduated in December, so this is my first job as a nurse.

What drew you towards pursuing nursing as a profession? To be able to take care of people, to help people, to get them from one point to another and to nurse them back to health.

What inspired you to focus your work on homelessness and addictions support? I was already a case worker with Alpha House at the Vet’s building, and I’ve always been a humanitarian. Back home I worked in a refugee camp. I’ve always worked with the vulnerable population, so I love always helping people.

What do you love the most about your work? To see how clients progress. Seeing them get from one point to another. When I see them come in, and am able to help nurse them back to health, that is my most rewarding moment. Even if it’s a minimal improvement, it is still a plus for me.

Can you share a favorite story or impactful moment you’ve had with a client since you’ve been with Alpha House? That’s tough because there’s so many. There was one client who came, and he had just been admitted when all of a sudden, he overdosed. We were able to Narcan him because he had already started turning purple, just like with all overdoses. But to be able to actually save someone’s life and to be able to help them in that capacity, that’s really the most rewarding part of my job. Just knowing that you really are able to make a difference, however minimal that is, that’s what counts for me.

 Shweta Sobti Sharma

How long have you been a nurse? For 3 years.

What drew you towards pursuing nursing as a profession? I was a dental technician before, but I didn’t like the timelines, and I always wanted to work with people. That’s why I went into nursing.

What inspired you to focus your work on homelessness and addictions support? When I started here, I wasn’t sure whether or not I would like it. This was my first job, but I ended up really liking it, and I never went anywhere else.

What do you love the most about your work? The clients. Helping them get clean and getting them onto Suboxone or Methadone so they don’t go back. Just helping them live a better life and getting to a better quality of life with the clients.

Can you share a favorite story or impactful moment you’ve had with a client since you’ve been with Alpha House? When I see them sober, that’s a special moment. Even if they end up coming back, when they tell me that they didn’t use for 6 or 7 months…we did have a client who was here for almost two months. She did relapse, but she had been clean for 7 months and we would always make sure that she was receiving her treatment from CUPS. It made us really happy to see that her treatment was successful.

 

Sam Dziuba

Can you tell us a little bit about your nursing background, and what drove you to become a nurse? I’ve spent the past 10 years working as a nurse.. I was raised by a hippie who always told me to never do a job for money, only do what makes you happy. And nursing seemed to have chosen me.

What led you to working with people struggling with homelessness, and substance use issues?  I lived on the streets when I was a youth from 16 till 20 years old…I also fought my own addictions. To me, I am not working with the homeless or people with substance use disorders…I’m just working with people just like myself…they are my people.

What do you like about working with this population? I like working with people who are down to earth and nonjudgmental…and the thing about addiction is that it lets you reach a point in your life where you learn what’s really important, material things come and go…but the people in your life are what really matters. I like the raw feeling of connecting to others based on respect, not what you have or where you live.

What’s your favourite part about being a nurse? I like learning, and people always teach me something new everyday. I love that.

Is there any advice or words of wisdom you would give to someone who is considering a career in health working with marginalized populations? Just be yourself…living on the streets makes you learn real quick on spotting who is being real and who is not.