The power of love at the BRICK Learning Centre: Transforming students’ lives through caring relationships

Realizing their telephone-based teen distress line was underutilized, DCC decided to try something new, and became the first organization in Canada to offer an online peer chat and texting service for youth in distress, now known as ConnecTeen.

This story picks up from where we left off in the Shared Wisdom story, “From enforcement to coffee and compassion: Trauma-informed care at Edmonton City Centre” that described a sea change in how security services are conceived and delivered at Edmonton City Centre (ECC).

What is it about some forms of training that inspire people to put evidence and new ideas into practice? We explored the training provided by the Imagine Institute for Learning under the umbrella of the Community Mental Health Action Plan.

The rewards of supporting people in crisis or mental health challenges can be unparalleled. To know we’ve helped someone and made a difference in their lives can impart a deep sense of meaning and purpose to our lives.

Nestled amongst the towering spruce trees of Calgary’s Mission community, the Aventa Centre of Excellence for Women with Addictions has been serving women with addictions for almost 50 years. From its humble roots as a volunteer-run home for women struggling with alcoholism, Aventa has grown and evolved over the years, earning a longstanding and excellent reputation for providing gender-responsive, trauma informed addiction treatment services exclusively to women.

The complexity and dynamism of the people and communities we serve, the issues they face, and the systems we work in makes optimizing the results of our efforts – making a difference in the lives of people we serve – a daunting challenge. To achieve the best possible outcomes in this environment, organizations need to continually learn, adapt and improve. Building and sustaining these abilities or capacities requires dedication and effort and we can learn from the experiences and wisdom of those who have succeeded in this regard.

How the Family Centre (TFC) in Edmonton increased access to mental health services and saved money, too

Have you ever had the feeling that things “aren’t just quite right” – that you could be doing things differently and getting better results? Have you ever experienced a convergence of events that made you realize things needed to change? This is a story about these very experiences – and how critical reflection, courageous action, and linkages between a large business and community-based mental health and addictions agencies has generated ground breaking changes in downtown Edmonton.