The City of Calgary congratulates 19 successful Calgary non-profits confirmed to receive $3 million in one-time funding as part of the $25 million community action strategy to tackle mental health and addiction.
Registered non-profit organizations operating in Calgary were invited to apply for funding in October 2018. The City sought applications for programs aimed at promotion, early intervention and targeted intervention as it relates to mental health and addiction. In all, 62 applications were received requesting over $12 million. Applications were assessed by members of City Administration, with input from other funding organizations, including Government of Alberta, Alberta Health Services, Calgary Police Service, The Calgary Foundation, United Way and The Calgary Homeless Foundation.
Funding is awarded to the following successful recipients offering programs aimed at enhancing the social well-being of Calgarians in support of efforts to be a healthy, equitable and inclusive city:
Alexandra Community Health Centre
Autism Calgary Association
Big Brothers Big Sisters Society of Calgary and Area
Calgary Catholic Immigration Society
Calgary Immigrant Women’s Society
Calgary Sexual Health Centre Society
Canadian Mental Health Association – Calgary Region
Carya Society of Calgary
Closer to Home Community Services Society
Distress Centre Calgary
Hull Services
Punjabi Community Health Services Calgary Society
Society de la petite enfance et de la famille du sud de l’Alberta
Wood’s Homes
Funding is awarded to the following successful recipients offering programs aimed at reducing harm to Calgarians in support of being a healthy and safe city for all:
Aboriginal Friendship Centre of Calgary
McMan Youth, Family and Community Services
RESET Society of Calgary
Funding is awarded to the following successful recipients offering programs aimed at reducing crime to support efforts to ensure Calgary is a city of safe and inspiring neighbourhoods:
Calgary Alpha House Society
Calgary Drug Treatment Court Society
“Calgary has a long history of helping citizens by building their skills and resiliency to overcome challenges related to mental health and addiction issues, but there is still a very real need in the community for us to do more,” says Melanie Hulsker, Director, Calgary Neighbourhoods. “On Bell Let’s Talk Day 2019, The City is honoured to announce $3 million in funding for 19 community partners with programs designed to reduce stigma surrounding mental health and addiction issues and connect citizens with the help they need to recover.”
“This funding will make a difference for regular Calgarians as we continue our work building Calgary’s first community-wide mental health and addiction strategy, says Mayor Naheed Nenshi. “We know we can’t tackle these issues alone. It is going to take a huge collective effort to address the root causes of social disorder – addictions and mental health being at the core. This is at the heart of why we are creating a long-term strategy where we will collaborate with all our partners in this complex system to put the citizen at the centre of our work.”
The City of Calgary is convening community partners to develop a mental health and addictions strategy for the next five years (2019 to 2023). Council has earmarked up to $25 million for this priority, with $15 million provided to the Prevention Investment Framework through funding, and $10 million to support the development and implementation of the Mental Health and Addiction Strategy.
For more information on The City’s Mental Health and Addiction strategy, visit Calgary.ca/communityaction.
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