It is Canadian Mental Health Association – Calgary Region’s (CMHA Calgary) mission to be a leader in reducing the impact of mental health or substance use concerns in community. For more than 65 years, we have provided a person and family-centred integrated service model focused on early intervention and prevention that delivers a measurable increase in community resiliency.
CMHA Calgary creates awareness, educates, and provides support for individuals and families living with a mental health or substance use concern, and a loss by suicide. We provide community-based programs, work closely with other community organizations to bridge gaps in the mental health care system and facilitate access to important services and resources.
WHAT WE OFFER
Peer Support:
Peer Support service provides the opportunity for anyone – individual, family member, or professional – to speak with someone with lived experience of mental health or substance use concern. By engaging with our peers you can make a connection, increase engagement and belonging, and move through the recovery journey to develop skills and build resiliency to stay well in community. Our peers are graduates of our School of Peer Support, and they use their own lived experience to help others focus on what is strong, rather than on what is wrong.
Contact our Peer Support team : (403) 297-1402 | peer@cmha.calgary.ab.ca
Counselling Services:
CMHA Calgary offers a variety of counselling supports to individuals, families, and couples.
- In our Suicide Bereavement counselling, individuals are supported through one-to-one interactions to receive coping strategies to stay well after the loss of their loved one.
- In our Family Support Counselling, family members who are caring for a loved one with a mental health or substance use concern are supported through one-to-one interactions to receive coping strategies and maintain their own wellness.
- The Grief and Loss Program is for those struggling with death and non-death grief and loss experiences such as job loss, managing anxiety and fear, and making meaning after loss.
Contact our Counselling team: (403) 297-1708 | counsellingintake@cmha.calgary.ab.ca | Visit www.communityconnectyyc.ca to book online.
Recovery College:
Recovery College uses an educational-based approach to help people recognize and develop their own resourcefulness and awareness to support themselves or their loves one's recovery journey. Everyone is welcome to attend our free courses. No experience is required and with lots of courses to choose from, there is something for everyone. The group education courses are for those 16 years and older. The focus of our courses are on building resiliency, hope, and self-care. They are designed and delivered in partnership with our Peer Supporters. We deliver more than 45 courses through registered and drop-in courses (currently all virtual). There is no referral, eligibility, or pre-requisites to participate.
Contact our Recovery College team: recovery.college@cmha.calgary.ab.ca | Register at www.recoverycollegecalgary.ca
Here’s how your donations make a difference:
$25 donation provides a peer support session for someone looking to connect based on similar life experiences
$75 donation provides a drop-in session for up to 45 Calgarians to start their mental health journey
$150 donation covers the cost of one virtual suicide bereavement or family counselling session
$250 donation covers continued co-development for the School of Peer Support to ensure the training remains reflective of the community needs
$500 donation enables a Peer Support Worker and Educator to co-facilitate a course for adults facing mental health concerns
Testimonials:
“These are heavy topics that are sometimes difficult to discuss, and you really opened it up to a place that kids feel comfortable and confident to be a part of these important discussions. As an educator for years, I am thankful to have you come both in person and online to give these meaningful presentations.”
-Adapted from Teacher feedback following YouthSMART learning sessions
“Thank you so much for your excellent, informative and engaging presentations on mental health and mental illness that you gave to our community. We appreciated your facilitator’s light touch with such a delicate subject. We found your facilitator to be respectful of people’s dignity and appreciated your caution around not diagnosing our friends and family! The depth of your knowledge showed, and we gleaned so much from your training and experience.”
-Adapted from feedback following an adult learning session
Check out their Youth Smart program HERE.
