Elements Calgary Mental Health Centre 1.38

Since incorporation in 1973, Calgary Association of Self Help has grown to a multifaceted agency with client-centered programs such as our Resource/Activity Centre, Activities of Daily Living, Life Skill, Initiatives, Occupational & Leisure Skills, Creative Arts, Recycling Project, Art Program and Writers' Club.

The Associations 23 staff members provide confidential and non-judgmental support to over 1,200 Calgarians annually who are challenged with mental illnesses such as depression, schizophrenia, bipolar affective disorder, anxiety, personality disorder and others. In addition to the illness they are also dealing with issues such as poverty, unemployment, stigma and social isolation.

Calgary Association of Self Help’s objectives and mandate is to provide Calgarians 18 plus years with:
- specially designed programs, where individuals with a mental illness can improve their skills and enhance their capabilities for living, learning, working and socializing in the community,
- a safe place where they are accepted and can find companionship and friends among others who share their life’s path,
- counselling, crisis prevention and intervention services that reduce reliance on expensive hospital or emergency services and
- recreation opportunities that they might otherwise not have access to on their limited income.

Calgary Association of Self Help offers an approach that understands mental illness and provides adults with learning and recreational opportunities in a climate of acceptance and hope. The Association provides flexible programs to help clients rebuild their self-esteem, increase confidence, reduce social isolation and introduce new skills which can be used in their daily lives to cope with their mental illness. In turn, it reduces the burden on families, friends and employers who are also affected and helps to prevent relapse and the need for costly hospitalization within an overburdened healthcare system. The Association also relies upon volunteers to help support our operations; annually 100 volunteers contribute over 10,000 hours of service each year.