Guest Author: Diane Jones Konihowski, Lend An Ear Coordinator

Distress Centre Calgary (DCC) provides free 24-hour mental health and crisis support, professional counselling, youth peer support, referrals through 211, and our programs at SORCe. We do this via phone, chat, text, and email. For 52 years, Distress Centre has served Calgary and Southern Alberta, ensuring everyone has a place to turn in times of crisis.

What is so unique about DCC is that we do not define crisis and we therefore support all social issues – suicide, depression, bullying, addictions, domestic violence, homelessness, poverty, isolation, loneliness, to name a few. We have been very busy as tens of thousands of Albertans continue to struggle with COVID. In 2021, the demand for our services continued to increase – especially our suicide related contacts – so we expanded chat and text support to 24/7.

For over 52 years, our mental health and crisis support services have been free to everyone 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Distress Centre relies on our annual Lend An Ear event to raise critical funding for our 24/7 crisis services. There has been lots of laughter and tears, stories of inspiration and hope, and ongoing loyalty from our event sponsors and the community since the inaugural event in 2011.

We could not host Lend An Ear without the ongoing commitment from our sponsors. It is such a pleasure and honour to have Viewpoint Foundation, Altitude Communications, LAN Solutions, Daytona Homes, and GLJ Petroleum continue their support each year. As our Keynote Speaker Sponsor, Viewpoint has provided our event with many inspirational speakers over the years, and this year is no exception: Ron Maclean, CBC Hockey Night in Canada Host; Catriona Le May Doan, Olympic medalist; Dr. Karen MacNeill, internationally renowned sport psychologist; and a Canadian Olympian will discuss the mental health challenges our athletes face during their journey to be the best in the world.