True North is an organization dedicated to supporting all individuals impacted by domestic violence. True North provides short-term emergency shelter, community programming, supportive counselling, referral, and advocacy.
Our Vision: Interrupting the cycle of abuse through empowerment to create a safe environment for all.
True North is committed to helping build a safe and secure community free from abuse. We aim to help prevent abuse through education and community programming, reduce the recurrence of violence through counselling and support programs, and respond to abuse by assisting survivors in building the skills and confidence needed to live independently.
Our Mission: Together we walk the path with those in crisis: honoring the past, providing support in the present, and awakening hope for the future.
Our goal is to provide non-judgmental support, active listening, and assistance to all individuals impacted by abuse. At True North, we celebrate diversity; respecting each person’s unique culture, history, and life experiences is foundational to our care practices.
Finding Your True North is an innovative approach to preventing and reducing the impact of domestic violence, acting as a crucial bridge for survivors between emergency shelter and independent living. By offering a full and accessible continuum of care, True North increases prevention efforts, bolsters violence intervention programming, and helps create greater long-term stability in the lives of survivors. At True North, we believe real change happens when services are coordinated, communities are engaged, and systems work together. Our model—Prevention, Intervention, Stability—is grounded in the belief that no single service can end gender-based violence on its own.
Learn more about our project: Finding Your True North
In-the-news:
True North Funding Announcement, shared by the True North Executive Director & Chantelle de Jonge, Chesteremere-Strathmore MLA
“True North successful in receiving provincial grant funding for affordable housing project,” Amanda Vanderlaan, True North Manager, as quoted in the Strathmore Times.
“What does ‘affordable housing’ really mean for Strathmore,” by Courtney Helfrich, True North Executive Director
“Affordable housing project in Strathmore,” by Chantelle de Jonge, Chesteremere-Strathmore MLA
Project Updates:
True North was established in 1992 as a community movement to support those experiencing domestic violence. True North operates out of a secure, 7000 sq. ft., home-like facility that can accommodate up to 25 people in seven bedrooms with shared bathrooms. The kitchen, living room, and yard are communal spaces. Two counselling spaces are available within the facility for personal space and reflection. The shelter provides families and individuals accommodations for up to 30 days while our staff support clients as they prepare for their next step. Clients also have access to nutritious homemade meals, childcare, counselling, support groups, safety planning, music therapy, yoga therapy, meditation, gardening, and educational sessions (How to Manage Stress, Fostering Self-esteem, Positive Parenting).
True North aspires to provide compassionate, trauma-informed programming with the goal of fostering client resiliency, mastery, independence, and a sense of peace and community.
The goal of the Child & Youth Program is to provide a safe and nurturing environment, where children can simply, “be kids”. The playroom is a relaxed atmosphere, where children can enjoy a variety of activities (arts & crafts, dramatic play, games and music). Our Child and Youth Program supports parents in addressing the physical and emotional needs of the family during their stay in the Shelter, while supplying a safe place for children and youth to express themselves freely and have fun.
True North’s Outreach Program meets people where they are at in many ways. Individuals may be in a relationship, leaving a relationship, returning home, or building a new life; our Outreach Workers are invaluable resources for helping individuals assess risk, safety plan, and connect to community resources and counselling no matter where they are in their journey.
Our court support program aims to provide legal resource referrals, safety planning and support around navigating the courthouse, providing an empathetic ear during what can be a scary and stressful process.
The Children’s Outreach Program provides longer-term support to children and adolescents experiencing traumatic events. Children have different psychological and emotional needs than adults and process trauma differently. True North’s Children-Outreach Workers are trained in child development and use this wealth of knowledge to provide children with specialty targeted care.
Public Education & Community Intervention Programming and Education is designed to increase awareness and decrease tolerance of violence and abuse by targeting the root risk causes of the later development of violence through 1) Workshops: free public education sessions for schools, clubs, agencies, and more. 2) Teamwork: Collaborating with other resource providers with whom we share goals. 3) Community Events: Public events True North can connect directly with our community, learn the needs & concerns of our community, provide information about healthy relationships and True North services, and obtain feedback to make our services more effective.
The Early Intervention Program is an integrative program between the Residential Shelter and the Child & Youth program that provides parents and children who have witnessed or experienced family abuse with supportive counseling, education, safety planning, and other tools to help foster healthy attachment strategies in children.
Early Intervention programming aims to reduce risk factors (such as exposure to domestic abuse) and increase protective factors (such as positive self-esteem and strong social supports) in a child’s life; these protective factors help mitigate risk and promote the healthy development and well-being of children throughout their lives.
True North relies on donations from individuals, corporations and public organizations to continue programs for families impacted by abuse. Without the generosity of our supporters and donors several of our programs would be unable to continue. Programs and essential services that depend on donations to operate include:
True North takes great pride in our inclusive practices. Since opening in 1992 we have remained committed to helping everyone who has experienced domestic violence. In 2017, the True North (formally the Wheatland Crisis Society) was recognized provincially, with an Alberta Inspiration Award for our inclusive practices. All True North programs are accessible to men, women and anyone within the LGBTQ+ community. In addition, the Male Domestic Abuse Outreach Program is offered through the Calgary Counselling Centre to provide longer term counselling, advocacy and support. The program includes individual and group services.