(Above) The women's shelter team. Back, from left, Lt Connie Cristall, CO, Shaganappi CC, Calgary, and chaplain, community services, Calgary; Joshua Kim and Cameron Cristall. Middle, from left, Marylin Poon, Amber Capling, Sandy Scobie and Mariam Ojo. Front, from left, Kathy Blindenbach and Mjr Glenda McKenzie, director of chaplaincy, community services, Calgary (Photo: Clifford Wiebe)

After Calgary’s Women’s Integrative Supportive Housing shut down in 2020, a gap formed in the city’s shelter system with a shortage of beds and a lack of supportive housing for all women experiencing homelessness. In response, The Salvation Army’s community services in Calgary appealed for funding to reopen an improved shelter facility to meet the growing need.

“With the funds we received from the government and The Salvation Army, we were able to open a night shelter that would be available to women seven days a week, from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m.,” says Clifford Wiebe, executive director. “Our spiritual care team was ready to come on board for three hours each night, allowing us to open our shelter earlier and meet the women first as they come in.”

The 18-bed shelter, with five additional overflow beds for urgent or emergency assistance, has two primary focuses: housing and recovery. In consultation with a domestic violence specialist, the shelter staff help women facing homelessness find affordable and appropriate housing while they recover from external struggles such as addiction, trauma and exploitation.

“It’s a beautiful building,” says Wiebe. “Everyone gets a bed, fresh sheets and towels when they arrive, there’s laundry facilities on site, a beautiful kitchen and dining area, even a living room with a TV and games, and a patio out back. It’s a dignified space.”

There is great need for housing support in Calgary, and women with children are often given first priority at local shelters, leaving fewer beds for single women without children who may not feel safe in shelters that accommodate both male and female clients. This new shelter will fill this gap, giving them a place to go where they feel safe.

“This is the cornerstone of the future of the women’s programming that we want to offer at this site,” says Wiebe. “We’re excited to share what God is doing here in Calgary and through our Salvation Army team, and we continue to pray that God will use this shelter as a place of hope and healing for these women as they move forward in their journey.”