Discovery House provides safe housing and essential support for women and children fleeing domestic violence as they transition out of short-term emergency shelters.
Each year, we house hundreds of families in our secure 19-apartment complex, and through our Community Housing Program (CHP) in affordable rental properties throughout the city, and also in one single family dwelling, Rosie’s House, for larger families
Women and children fleeing domestic violence have to face a lot of barriers and difficulties. Discovery House, Brenda Strafford Society, and Sonshine Community Services have set up a Shared Intake and Referral Program (SIR) to help women leaving emergency shelters find longer term housing
Before the SIR was in place, women had to start the process of finding second-stage housing for themselves and their children after the maximum 21-day emergency shelter stay. That meant that they had to submit applications to multiple shelters and sit on multiple waitlists, which many clients found difficult and stressful.
With the SIR, referrals and applications are standardized and all intakes are coordinated by a shared intake worker working with all three of Calgary’s second-stage shelters. Clients only have to apply once and are placed on a single waiting list until a unit becomes available in one of the three shelters.
Having a single point of entry makes the process a lot easier and stress free for women and their children waiting for a safe place to call home.
Please note: We also take self referrals. Anyone can refer to the Shared Intake Worker.
We would like to give a special thank you to the Calgary Foundation for their funding of the Shared Intake Program.
