News

Programming Changes at SORCe

July 20, 2024

We are excited to announce that we have launched TWO new programs!

  • Our Tax & Benefits program Our specialist can help you file your taxes, as well as connect individuals facing homelessness to recourses on income support and pensions after 65 and collaborates with a Financial Coach for further support regarding finances

  • The Justice Navigation program works with individuals in need of support with justice-related matters.  Needs that the program can address include: victim navigation, landlord/tenant disputes, addressing by-law infractions, information on warrants and court dates, information on legal processes and available resources, and in-person court support. 

February 9, 2023

  • Rapid Care Counselling – We are excited to have the Rapid Care Counselling (RCC) program up and running! The program provides timely access to mental health services for people with lived experience of homelessness.

  • Housing Hub – This space has two dedicated phones and computers for use of program participants. The space is open on Monday’s, Tuesday’s and Thursday’s

  • The Alex - The street team is now available for walk-in at SORCe on Wednesdays, Thursdays’ and Fridays.


Jesse’s Journey; one of our recent practicum students shares his experience:

Blog #1 

My name is Jesse and I am a practicum student with the Distress Centre. I have been working here since January and am currently in the Criminal Justice program at Mount Royal University. I’m in my last semester meaning I’ll finally be getting my degree next month! 

Last week I was given the opportunity to do a shadow shift with SORCe to see what they are all about and to see firsthand what they do. It was a fantastic opportunity to learn a ton about all of the programs that are available in Calgary and to make some great new connections with people in the industry. I even got invited back, and so I will be working there every Wednesday for the duration of my practicum! 

I immediately got thrown into the hustle of things when the doors opened at 9 am that Wednesday morning and people began streaming in. I watched as the staff at SORCe began working through the lineup of people waiting in the lobby to get them the help and services that they need. SORCe is a collaboration of agencies, which means that the people who are working there are from all over. I got introduced to the guy from probation, the people from Calgary Housing, a victim services agent from the Drop-In Center, the registry person who does IDs, the tax lady, a Calgary Police officer, and the list goes on. It is an office of great diversity and a wide range of skills. When a person comes through the door (most clients are homeless or on the brink of homelessness), they are checked in and triaged to see who we can best connect them with. If they are there to get help with housing, then one of the housing specialists will come down and meet with them one on one to help work with them to get them started on the process of finding housing. SORCe offers free ID clinics, where they can come and get help applying for Government ID at no cost to them as well as help getting their taxes done. It is a place where homeless people can feel human again as they get very personalized support and help. 

SORCe is a one-stop-shop focusing on the needs of the homeless and vulnerable populations in Calgary. It is a place where they can go to get help getting back on their feet. Going from having absolutely nothing to being stable and housed again takes an incredible amount of work and resources and so SORCe is there to try and provide the help and resources needed. 

Tune in next week where I am going to be talking about the brand-new communications hub that SORCe just opened to the public! 

Blog #2 

Last week I gave an overview of what agencies are all involved at SORCe and all of the things that they do. Now I want to talk about why all of this is necessary. 

The biggest thing that I have learned being at SORCe is how incredibly difficult it is to get out of the cycle of homelessness and poverty. Going from someone who has absolutely nothing to getting back on your feet is a frustratingly complicated process. To illustrate this process, let's imagine John (not real name), as a hypothetical example. As is common with many homeless people, John has no ID, no Job, and no income. What John does have however is a mindset that he has had enough of living on the streets and wants to get his life back together. He comes into SORCe to talk to someone about getting help with housing. This is where the complicated process begins. 

In order for John to be able to pay for subsidized housing, he first needs some form of income, usually in the form of Alberta Works. In order to apply for Alberta Works, John needs a bank account. To get a bank account however, John needs two pieces of ID, which he doesn’t have. In order to get any form of Provincial ID like a driver’s license or health care card, John needs a birth certificate. In order to get a birth certificate, John needs money to pay for it as well as a mailing address, both of which he doesn’t have. 

If John is able to figure this all out and get his hands on some ID and a bank account, the next step in the application is to show proof of where he is living in the form of a rent report. Well that obviously doesn’t work. The entire reason John is trying to get income support is so that he can have money to pay for rent. The only way around this is to find a landlord who is willing to sign a rent report for John promising to rent to John once the Albert Works comes through. And as you can imagine, there’s not many landlords out there who would want to sign a lease with somebody who has no job and no income. 

John is very motivated however and manages to yet again get through these hurdles. He can finally submit an application to Alberta Works. The only problem is that Alberta Works doesn’t currently take in-person applications. Everyone has to apply online or by phone, and yet again, John does not have a phone or a computer. It is at this point where John gives up. He has been trying so hard for so many weeks and he just keeps hitting wall after wall. It seems to John that society is trapping him in this position of homelessness. As you can see, the system is not making it very easy for John at all. The barriers in place for someone like John are immense, and so it makes sense why so many people get trapped in a cycle at the bottom of society… it's just so hard to climb out without support. John’s story is not a unique one. Everyday people are streaming through our doors in this exact predicament. They have to go through all of these steps and start from square one. This is the exact reason why SORCe is so important. It puts all of the necessary people and agencies into one building and tries to help push people along this process as best they can. SORCe exists to try and make the transition out of homelessness just a little bit easier. 

Blog #3 

Last week I talked about the barriers that hypothetical John had to face in order to just try to get a basic thing like housing. He needed an ID, a bank account, income assistance, a phone or computer, and a heck of a lot of patience and motivation to not give up on this excruciatingly long and complicated process.  

SORCe is a one-stop shop for John to try and make this process go a little bit easier by providing as many of these resources as we can all under one roof. To even further support people like John, SORCe has only just added another resource to their arsenal: The Communications Hub. The communication hub is a brand-new space in the SORCe building that contains several computers and phones available for public access. It is also staffed so that individuals can get assistance with any important tasks they need to get done online or over the phone.  

This space is huge for so many people. As our world moves more and more into a digital space, Calgary’s homeless and lower-class population is getting increasingly left behind. Thanks to Covid-19, this shift has moved even more rapidly as many agencies all over the city have closed their doors to the public and no longer have any physical location or drop-in hours. Many of Calgary’s most vulnerable people do not have access to computers or phones and so when an application to critical services simply moves online, it puts it completely out of reach for so many. Being a fairly well-off and housed individual, doing things online is second nature and I never give it a second thought. Working at SORCe has enlightened me however to the difficulty it presents to so many. 

Programming Changes at SORCe

Since January 2021, Distress Centre Calgary has worked in partnership with the Calgary Homeless Foundation to enhance Distress Centre programming at the location of SORCe to provide additional on-site services through the COVID-19 pandemic and winter response. The goal was to create opportunities for individuals and families experiencing, or at-risk of, homelessness to access in-person supports to reach their housing and wellness goals by providing safe access to support services. The project funding made available for these enhanced Community Supports is completed and we will no longer be able to provide some services effective May 31st, 2022.

 Important Program and Service End Dates

  • Crisis Mental Health & Client Advocate – case management intakes are no longer happening for new program participants for advocacy support. Crisis Mental Health interventions and community referrals will continue to May 27, 2022.

  • Personal Identification Program – walk-in intakes stop on May 13th, 2022 at noon and current ID program participants will be supported to May 31, 2022 to complete applications and receive supported appointments at the registry.

  • Rapid Engagement Specialists – additional supports with basic needs, system navigation, information and referrals will continue to May 31, 2022. These needs will continue to be met with System Navigator and Resource Specialists within the CAA Team, however capacity will be reduced.

  • Diversion Housing Strategist – new intakes have stopped, all current program participants will receive a warm transfer to the CAA Team Diversion Housing Strategist for continued support.

  • Housing Hub Coordinator – opened in February as part of winter response. This space has two dedicated phones and computers for use of program participants. The space will remain open for use, access may be on a more limited basis through the transition.

How will current program participants be supported through the program changes at SORCe?

The SORCe team is working collaboratively with program participants in developing a transition plan with the appropriate supports in place, based on specific needs.

Programs and Support available at SORCe after June 1, 2022

  • Distress Centre CAA Team continues to provide System Navigation & Resource Specialists, Housing Strategists, Diversion programming and Financial Empowerment services.

  • The Alex Street Team continues to provide services out of SORCe on Thursdays.

  • The DI continues to be on-site with both Victims Services and Shelter Diversion.

  • The Alberta government has a dedicated probation officer on-site 5 days a week.

  • Calgary Police Service continues to provide justice navigation support Mondays.

Outcomes and Acknowledgement

Over the past 14 months, the Community Supports and Winter Response teams served 1,002 unique people or families. The Personal Identification Program successfully provided 1,049 pieces of identification to individuals through this low barrier programming. The Crisis Mental Health and Client Advocate provided over 200 crisis interventions and follow-ups, plus 143 successful connections to community mental health supports. 75 individuals and families remained housed or were successfully re-housed in community through support of the Housing Location and Diversion program.

Distress Centre and our partners located at SORCe recognize and appreciate the work that this team put forth during the pandemic response.

Distress Centre and SORCe would like to thank the Calgary Homeless Foundation for providing the funding that enabled us to offer this important programming through the pandemic.

Distress Centre remains committed to explore funding opportunities that will support sustained programs and support to meet the evolving needs of our program participants. SORCe remains committed to ongoing exploration of strategic partnerships to enhance services offered out of this location.

Please see Agencies at SORCe for detailed information on services offered at this location.