08/26/2026
One of the organizations we are proud to support in Calgary is Distress Centre Calgary, and the work happening behind these walls reaches much further than most people realize.
Distress Centre Calgary is Calgary’s only 24-hour crisis response centre, providing free crisis support by phone, text and chat, professional counselling, 211 navigation, youth support and connections to community resources. In 2025 alone, the organization made more than 148,000 connections through its crisis, counselling, 211 and other support services.
And their work continues to evolve with the needs of our city.
One initiative we have been following is the Calgary Community Information Exchange (CIE), led by Distress Centre Calgary. The goal is to connect organizations across areas such as housing, health care, social services and basic needs through secure information sharing. With a person’s consent, participating organizations can better coordinate support, meaning someone going through a difficult time may not have to tell the same painful story over and over again to different agencies.
The CIE has now moved beyond the early planning stages, with Distress Centre already using the platform internally across some programs while additional community partners continue onboarding and testing.
Another program worth knowing about is the 911/211 Co-Location Initiative. Distress Centre’s 211 specialists work alongside Calgary 911 so certain non-emergency calls can be redirected to community-based support rather than an emergency response. In 2024, more than 8,400 contacts were handled through this call-diversion work.
These programs are a good example of why we chose Distress Centre Calgary as one of our charity partners. Their team is answering the call in the moment, but they are also looking at how Calgary’s support systems can work better together for the person who needs them.
We are very proud to support the people doing this work.
If you or someone you know needs support:
☎️ 24-Hour Crisis Line: 403-266-4357
📱 Call or text 211 for community and social service navigation
☎️ Call or text 988 for su***de crisis support