Discovery House

Contact email

[email protected]

About

*For Current COVID-19 Related information Click Here

Discovery House is a social profit organization providing a continuum of care to women and their children fleeing domestic violence. We facilitate transitional housing, offering longer-term, safe places for women and children to call home while they begin rebuilding their lives. We provide mothers access to counselling, support and programs to ensure they never return to abusive partners. We work directly with children, to mitigate the effects of trauma and prevent the cycle from repeating.

OUR MISSION - To end the traumatic cycle of domestic violence for women and children

OUR VISION - Our communities are free of family violence

OUR VALUES

Safety: We are in the safety business. We provide the physical and emotional safe spaces for women and their children to feel secure, to recover, discover and thrive.
Compassion: We are privileged to engage with people at points of extreme vulnerability. We treat our clients and each other with kindness, empathy and care. We believe that compassion is a strength that builds strength.
Excellence: We are committed to best practice in our programs, operations and governance. We pursue innovation through research, training and development. We aspire to be a Centre of Excellence.
Collaboration: There is strength in numbers. We are leading a movement of change which requires the collaborative efforts of many community partners. We seek the inputs and contributions of others, and share best practices with our community.
Urgency: Our work saves lives. We advocate for the women and children we serve, and courageously pursue societal change to break the generational cycle of domestic violence.

*Discovery House is NOT an emergency shelter. We support women and children transitioning from emergency shelter to the next stage of support and recovery. To learn more about how to access our housing and support services, please contact us

Social Networks

Gender & Sexuality

Age Groups Served

Services & Programming Offered

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SAFE HOUSING

Discovery House provides safe housing and essential support for women and children fleeing domestic violence as they transition out of short-term shelters.

Safe Housing in the Community - Using the housing-first model, our Community Housing Program (CHP) places families affected by abuse into long-term, stable rental housing in the community and provides the support necessary to help women and their children achieve their goals. This model has a strong history of success in housing the homeless and Discovery House was the first in Canada to apply it to domestic abuse situations. Last year, we supported more than 100 women and children through the Community Housing Program. For More Info Click Here

Safe Housing at the Shelter - The Discovery House building is located in Calgary, Alberta, with an undisclosed address to ensure client safety. It contains 19 individual apartments, community spaces, and the Discovery House offices. It is close to neighbourhood schools, a pool and shopping, with easy access to public transportation. There is a double locked door that is patrolled 24 hours with cameras and security. For More Info Click Here

Access to basic needs and community resources - Case managers work with families to ensure their basic needs are met and provide support, referrals, and advocacy. Community resources include food banks, move-in deposits, household supplies and legal supports.

Clinical mental health support - Mental health clinicians (RSW, MSW, and Psychologists) provide individual and group counselling, as well as resources to recover from physical, emotional and psychological issues such as anxiety and depression.

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PROGRAMS FOR CHILDREN 0-5yrs (For More Info)

ATTACH™: helps moms mitigate the negative impact of trauma on their children caused by domestic violence. The program is focused on improving reflective function, children’s attachment security, parent-child relationships and child health and development for at-risk mothers and children <72 months of age. Toxic stressors place children at risk for insecure attachment, altered parent-child relationship quality and altered health and developmental trajectories, including immune function. Parental reflective function, i.e. parents’ capacity to understand their own and their child’s mental states and thus regulate their own feelings and behavior toward their child, buffers the negative effects of toxic stress on children.

Child Development Centre (CDC): A cornerstone intervention to help children meet their developmental milestones and utilizes sensory play, arts and crafts, general play, reading, and songs. The CDC is also used as a trauma informed childcare space to support other programs for moms.

Working for Kids: This educational platform is based on neuroscience principles that uses novel, recently developed, hands-on educational tools that teaches adults how the brain develops and how factors in a child's environment shape brain development. The program provides methods/tools that moms can employ to help their children develop into healthy adults. Adults are empowered to help children improve their language skills, problem-solving skills and social-emotional skills - setting children on an upward trajectory for success in life.

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PROGRAMS FOR CHILDREN 6-12yrs (For More Info)

After School Program: School-aged children receive help with homework and engage in activities that incorporate brain science.

Kids' Club: Group-based intervention for children aged six to twelve (Grade 4-6) who have experienced domestic violence. It is designed to enhance the child’s sense of safety, develop the therapeutic alliance and create a common vocabulary of emotions. While children are at Kids' Club, moms are participating in Mom's Empowerment.

SNAP®: Stop Now And Plan, is an evidence-based gender sensitive, trauma-informed multi-component cognitive behavioural model. The primary goal of SNAP is to help children (aged 6-17) who are struggling with disruptive behavioural issues to stop and think before they act, and keep them in school and out of trouble. SNAP provides a framework for teaching effective emotional regulation, self-control, and problem solving skills to parents and their children. Discovery House is currently the only SNAP affiliate in Calgary.

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PROGRAMS FOR MOMS (For More Info)

Financial Empowerment: Financial literacy programming helps women understand and take control of their finances. All case managers are trained in financial coaching to assist with budgeting, saving and taxes.

Hands Up Bursary: Established by a local philanthropic family, the bursary provides financial support to women pursuing post-secondary education. Since its inception in 2007, the bursary has awarded more than $450,000 to Discovery House clients.

Moms' Empowerment: Group-based program (8 sessions) for mothers who have experience domestic violence. It is designed to support and enhance emotional regulation, parenting and disciplinary skills. The facilitator leads conversations while creating a safe space for moms to learn and talk about their own experience and feelings.

Parenting After Domestic Violence: A 12-week group-based program for parents who have left an abusive situation and would like support with family literacy. Topics include emotional wellness, understanding anger, single parenting, family patterns, boundaries, and others.

Women's Wellness: Group-based program rooted in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CTB) and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) designed to help women focus on their own healing, and improve their ability to cope with stress, anxiety, and distress. DBT is based on CBT with greater focus on emotional and social aspects.

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SEASONAL PROGRAMS (For More Info)

Equine Assisted Learning: In a partnership with Equine Connections, clients have the opportunity to interact with horses, which helps restore confidence and trust so they can move forward with their lives.

Yorticulture: Yoga therapy is partnered with community gardening – two highly restorative and regenerative activities that allows women and children to connect with nature and reduce stress. Clients and staff meet in the Inglewood Community Garden to work on mindfulness and activity-based counselling. Much of the harvest is provided to families accessing Discovery House programming.