It was a radical idea at the time: creating long-term shelter space for women and children fleeing domestic violence.   

Calgary had an emergency women’s shelter by the late 1970s, but there was nowhere for those in need to go after the maximum three-week stay – nowhere that was just for women and children. Too often their only option was to return to their abusers.

“Domestic violence was much more secretive back then and there weren’t a lot of supports,” recalls Marie Cameron, one of Discovery House’s co-founders.

“When a woman tried to escape, she was told to go back to her husband or to stay with family, and often her family would encourage her to go back to her abuser.”

We’ve come a long way since then, but there is still so much work to do before we can realize a community free of domestic violence. And together, we can achieve it.

Discovery House's Timeline

  • 1978

    • Founding vision for a shelter for mothers and children

      A group of women, including the Catholic Women’s League are inspired to create long-term shelter for mothers and children fleeing domestic violence in Calgary.

  • 1980

    • Discovery House opens as Calgary’s first long-term shelter for abused women. We are one of the first second-stage shelters in Canada.

      “We wanted the shelter to be a place where women can discover themselves and learn who they are away from their abuser.”
      – Marie Cameron, Discovery House co-founder

  • 1984

    • Discovery House doubles capacity, relocating to a facility with 14 furnished apartments.

      “Funding was hard to secure. We really had to prove ourselves. The general thought was that these women didn’t need this service – they were told to go back to their husbands.”

      – Marie Cameron

  • 1989

    • Discovery House offers counselling to children who experience or witness violence in their families.

      82% of kids who complete our programming feel like good things will happen in their lives.

  • 2004

    • Discovery House is now in a secure 19-unit building with shared spaces like a computer room, courtyard, library, and youth centre.

      Counselling, wellness programs, financial-literacy classes and education bursaries mean women and their children gain independence as they overcome trauma.

  • 2009

    • We help families find stable housing in the community through the Community Housing Program.

      This first-of-its-kind program in Canada launches to address the overlap of family homelessness and violence. Families are supported in rental housing in Calgary while accessing all other Discovery House programs.

  • 2018

    • Discovery House partners with Harvard University’s Center on the Developing Child and a team from the University of Calgary.

      Their research in early brain development and healthy childhood attachment is informing the creation of new childhood interventions that could play a key role in preventing domestic violence.

  • 2020

    • Covid-19 pandemic declared. When other doors were closed, ours were open.

      All in-person programs switch to virtual. Staff and families don protective facemasks. Shelters report a “shadow pandemic” of domestic violence, with rates of violence worsening due to isolation and stress. 

  • 2023

    • Cultural healing space created with Elder Pam Heavy Head opens on National Indigenous Peoples Day.

      A cultural healing space is thoughtfully created in consultation with Elder Pam Heavy Head and opens with a traditional naming ceremony on National Indigenous Peoples Day. The space is given the Blackfoot name “Kookonooni” and the Cree name “Kiikinow” meaning “Our House.”

  • 2024

    • Discovery House launches the first-ever Indigenous version of Mom’s Empowerment and Kid’s Club.

      The program is developed in consultation with Elders and the University of Manitoba and Calgary.

  • 2025

    • Discovery House is recognized with two awards;

      The Calgary Award for Community Advocacy by The City of Calgary and the Inspiration Award by the Government of Alberta in the Indigenous Leadership category.

    • The second-stage shelter is much loved and needs repairs and renovations.

      Work to develop a comprehensive capital campaign to restore the facility begins.