Monthly Archives: October 2015
Celebrating Philanthropy 2015
In late September 2015, we celebrated the philanthropic generosity of four incredible friends. Bob Harris and his family, with the families of Bill Kujat, of Safeway Holdings; Charlie Guille, of Cougar Construction; and Ross Glen, of RGO Office Products, made together an incredible contribution of $5.6 million towards Accessible Housing’s new 45-unit home. The building with studio and one-bedroom units has been designed to provide affordable, safe, barrier-free housing with supports. The home is being built through funding raised through Accessible Housing’s partnership in the RESOLVE Campaign, a unique collaboration of nine Calgary organizations with the goal to raise $120 million to build affordable and supportive rental housing. Accessible Housing’s current building on the site overlooks Confederation Park and houses 11 residents. The new building will be home to 45 adults with limited mobility as a result of spinal cord injury, an acquired or congenital physical disability. Gibbs Gage Architects has designed the new 42,000-square foot, three-storey facility on the sloped lot allowing for ample patio space and a walkout to the park, connecting residents with the outdoors. A fully accessible design features zero step entries, wider spaces, roll-in-showers and other unique features. Residents will also have access to 24/7 care...Read More→
Proudly Parapan Am
By Katrina, a Residential Support Worker at Accessible Housing The experience of watching Canadian Parapan Am athletes this summer was an absolute honor. To know them personally, to have tried playing the sport with some of them, seeing first hand top-notch wheelchair-rugby and being able to walk away with a bit of knowledge towards the sport to bring to other future players was inspirational. The message these athletes portray to other athletes, spectators and for myself? Never give up on your dreams. The stories of the athletes, all being different many that I know personally, made it even more emotional for me. Being a wife of a future Canadian team member hopeful made the whole experience especially amazing. Wearing the Canadian flag, sitting with the athletes’ family members in the crowds, watching the clock as it counted down the last seconds, and witnessing the medals being placed around the athlete necks on home soil was an inexpiable feeling. They fought to get to the gold, pursuing their dreams, striving for their independence, starting families and putting their disabilities to side and creating an environment to achieve the things they want. All these athletes have won at life.
10 Signs of Belonging
By Trent Sicotte, Accessible Housing Program Coordinator We often think of basic human needs in terms of food, shelter, and clothing but of equal importance is having a sense of belonging. One of our main goals at Accessible Housing’s Foundation Place is to have our residents and staff develop a greater sense of belonging. Here are some examples that help illustrate that. Ten Signs of Belonging I’ve noticed at Foundation Place: 1. TJ, who used to hide in his room and was unable to make eye contact, now regularly leaves his bedroom door open throughout the day, greets staff and guests with a smile, and attends almost every planned outing or activity. 2. Carl has reached out to reconnect with and visit family members in Ontario and Manitoba after almost thirty years because he has recognized the need for connection with his family. 3. Oscar, our support worker, consistently maintains a positive friendly attitude, while working with all the residents to support their projects and activities that contribute to our community. 4. Steve, shortly after moving in, helped paint our fence with Oscar. He also painted the trim and doors of the garage as a way of contributing and showing...Read More→
