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.
While CUPS supports thousands of people each year in many different ways, we do so in conjunction with our partners. Every day, we connect with agencies like Alcoholics Anonymous, Alpha House, Distress Centre, AHS Mobile Response Team and the Calgary Food Bank – a large network of community supports that work with vulnerable Calgarians like Mike.
Clients can work through emotional and addiction issues with counselling and treatment, deal with any physical health problems and seek appropriate housing at the same time. This multi-layered, integrated approach focuses on a person’s overall well-being and stability. Appropriate housing is often the beginning of a whole new life for clients.
When Mike came to CUPS, he worked with Lana to get identification. He enrolled in parenting courses with Chelsea and Holly and sought counselling with Vickie.
CUPS advocated alongside Mike as he worked with the Alberta Department of Child and Family Services, and he was awarded custody in an unheard-of 11 months. Laura helped the family find a four-bedroom home in a safe neighbourhood and made sure they were in the CUPS Graduated Rent Subsidy Program (GRSP) to help with the rent. She also referred Mike to the Calgary Food Bank, to ensure they had access to food.
Today, Mike connects with CUPS for other supports that help him create a safe and stable home for his three daughters and one son, such as the birthday program that provides each child with a cake, presents and decorations for a special day of their own.
“It’s been a struggle,” he says. “When I first came to CUPS, I was broken. I was financially bankrupt, spiritually bankrupt. I was looking for support and Lana was there when I first got connected. Since then, it’s been a miracle. They gave me so much hope, so many options, so many referrals. I’m forever grateful.”
Today, Mike and his children are thriving in their new home.
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.
It was on one of those frigid nights that the encampment crisis intervention volunteers showed up at his tent and offered to help. That kickstarted David’s journey to recovery and the start of his relationship at CUPS. David worked with our community development team to find a home and ongoing support that would link him to the other resources he would need, including addiction support.
“I wasn’t born homeless,” he says. “I had a good job and lost it. I had a relationship that fell apart. Seems like everything just fell apart at once. And then the addictions kicked in as a coping strategy.”
When David was homeless, he described it as living in a hole that just kept getting deeper. CUPS was there when he was ready for help.
“These programs pretty much saved me from myself and homelessness, and poverty and addictions,” he says. “I’m very grateful for where I am right now. Thanks to CUPS, I have my own place. I lock the door at night, I have food in the fridge, I have a stereo and I have a little balcony. It’s my oasis. It’s my home.”