2021 CUPS Annual Report
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Executive Director
Board Chairman
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3,000+ hours spent providing clients with supports at intake and care planning / coordination 6% increase in health patients over last year 29,095 patient visits at CUPS health clinics, in-person or remotely 18,629 times health workers provided support outside of patient visits 13% increase in primary care direct visits with a clinician 288 individuals were connected to opioid treatment within one day of referral 2,897 outreach visits to shelters provided health support to those who might not otherwise seek help 259 people worked with our health navigators to transition from acute care to community supports 58 children aged 3-6 years were enrolled in the Child Development Centre in the 2020-21 school year 100% of kindergarten students graduated to Grade 1 209 caregivers engaged in educational programming to improve their parenting skills 561 clients received mental health counselling and treatment either on site or remotely 566 people helped with avoiding evictions, first month’s rent, utilities, and other emergency supports between January and December 2020 606 individuals and families accessed affordable housing 45 clients graduated from a CUPS housing program and another 20 required less intensive supports 82% of housing clients have been stably housed for 1 year or longer $17 million in revenue
Making Connections Through Brain Science and Integrated Care
There is power in making connections. Connections are at the heart of relationships, the root of resilience and the foundation of our community.
At CUPS, our entire organization is built around that idea and the goal of providing fully integrated care to vulnerable populations in Calgary. Integrated care is designed to ensure a client has all the services in place they need to build resilience and reach their own individual level of success. For some, their journey may begin and end at CUPS. For others, it requires connections with outside supports.
Our strategic plan guides us through the process of delivering integrated, trauma-informed, evidence-based services. It ensures that the best knowledge we have about building resilience is put into practice, and it aligns us as a team and with our partners. Most of all, it helps our clients achieve the best possible outcomes.
Engaging with the full picture of human health
CUPS Integrated Care Tool (formerly known as the Resiliency Matrix) is a client-centered planning and assessment tool that we continue to develop. We use this Tool to get a complete picture of a person’s circumstances by having holistic conversations based on everything that’s happening in their lives, from their financial situation to personal relationships. It helps guide us to work alongside our clients to create integrated care plans that are tailored to their needs and goals.
Our vision for CUPS Integrated Care Tool is to continue to find new and innovative ways to improve overall health and wellbeing in individuals, families and entire communities.
Message from the Chairman of the Board & Executive Director
As a global community, we’re still coming to terms with the impact of COVID-19 which continues to change everything about life and work as we know it. We will be dealing with the long-term effects on the mental health of our clients, staff and our community members for a long time to come. Because of this, it is more important than ever to focus on building resiliency and building connections – with each other, our clients and those who support our work — to help us navigate these unprecedented times.
When we work together it not only helps people in need, it has a profound impact on our own lives and well-being. Through this pandemic year, the response to coronavirus has demonstrated how community can truly work together and showcased the contribution that communities make to public health. We also became more aware of the value of social connections as we made intentional choices to explore opportunities to build strength and unity, to find new ways to connect with each other and contribute to our community.
What emerged from this year was a rich portrait of individuals, organizations and governments taking action through uncertainty. The impact of this support kept us moving ahead at a time when the world around us came to a grinding halt. Supporters like you gave us the tools we needed to quickly pivot to a primarily virtual platform to identify and address the most urgent needs. Because of you, our doors never closed, and we were able to shift some services into a virtual space, allowing us to work with clients in the moment and stay with them as they built capacity to push through their challenges. When we needed to see people in person, we found ways to do so safely and through telehealth and other online platforms, and we were successful in expanding our reach to meet an ever-increasing demand for help across all service areas.
We are proud that innovation was at the forefront of our work this year. We were able to engage our children and families in educational opportunities in ways we’ve never tried before, and we will continue to build on these new strengths. While many people around the world delayed seeking medical attention for fear of catching COVID, our health clinics saw an increase in traffic from new and existing patients. Emergency interventions for basic needs like food and housing were also on the rise and we found new ways and forged new collaborations to keep these vital services going.
We couldn’t have done this without your unwavering support, our amazing staff and the trust of the thousands of Calgarians who came through our doors, either in-person or virtually. That’s resilience in every way we can think of.
This year, connections with our community partners have also become more significant. Mental health and addictions are past the tipping point in Calgary and a system-wide response must be a priority in the city for years to come. And that is why we are increasing collaborations that focus on prevention and continually developing programs, where we can get people in the door quickly and provide vulnerable community members treatment fast.
The pandemic has made us all feel a little more vulnerable. We’re anxious about our futures, the health of our loved ones and the well-being of our community. We don’t know what the next year will bring in terms of recovery and there are still many unknowns. What we do know is we want to sustain the resilience, empowerment and connections that have been so important in the last year.
On behalf of our Board of Directors, our staff and clients, thank you for your dedication and support to CUPS and the incredible individuals and families who make up our community.
Michael Lang, Board Chairman &
Carlene Donnelly, Executive Director
Executive Director
Board Chairman
Time to Make a Difference
Special team transforms coronavirus isolation into life-enhancing experience
A COVID-19 isolation is 14 days, or 336 hours, or 20,160 minutes.
Where will vulnerable people with no fixed address spend this challenging time when ordered to self-isolate? And who will help them meet their complex needs?
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These were among the first questions CUPS and other social service agencies pondered when the first wave of the Coronavirus was about to hit Calgary in March 2020. There was already an escalating crisis facing vulnerable Calgarians.
Working with our partners to break down barriers to support homeless and vulnerably-housed Calgarians transition from acute care back into community.
CUPS C2C Team Helps Break Down Barriers
So Much More Than a Roof Overhead
A widower with five children in foster care, Mike first connected with CUPS after joining an addictions treatment program and Alcoholic Anonymous (AA). He wanted to become the parent his children would need, and AA knew CUPS could help set him on the path to getting his family back.
Three years ago, David was living in a tent on a hill by Reader Rock Garden, feeling helpless and alone. On minus 30-degree nights, he worried about freezing to death, and if he made it through the night, where he’d go to get warm and where he would find his next meal. He was in a constant state of life-threatening crisis.
Hope in Challenging Times
The last year at CUPS was filled with challenges, but it also proved to be a year of opportunity as CUPS found ways to be life-changing helpers, fostering hope and mental health support for the most vulnerable Calgarians facing adversity and trauma.
The number of people seeking counseling from CUPS and the intensity of the supports needed have increased substantially. New health restrictions introduced early in the pandemic escalated these needs, as people lost access to community support groups and group therapy. These are critical lifelines for many of the people CUPS serves.
Together, we make a greater impact in the community.
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Our Extraordinary Team
Our team is comprised of 163 intelligent, generous, hard-working individuals who are committed to making an impact on their community.
We couldn’t do this work without help from our many community partners.
Improving Child Literacy Through Wee Read
A Valued Partnership
Learning to read is a powerful skill and can directly impact the brain development of our youngest community members. According to strongstart.ca, by age three children in low-income homes will have heard ⅓ as many words as children in middle-to-high income homes.
Pivoting Through a Pandemic
To Provide Full-Service Support
The last year will be one we will never forget. While exhausting and emotionally draining for many, it was a year where we saw our community come together to support each other and find ways forward with strength and determination.
We knew COVID would present an extra level of challenge for vulnerable members of our community. “There are certainly a variety of reasons for which this population is at greater risk and will likely be disproportionately affected by coronavirus,” says Carlene Donnelly, CUPS Executive Director.
While the remote support has been incredible, we missed the face-to-face connections of our clients, donors and volunteers in the last year. CUPS is a community in its own right and it’s the people — staff, clients and supporters — who come together to make an impact.
Social Stories
Connect With Us
Together we can do so much more. Help us build a more resilient and healthier community for all.
- Visit us virtually.
- Volunteer in a socially-distant way.
- Partner with us.
- Donate and support us financially.
- Like us on social media at CUPSCalgaryAB.
