Calgary News

Calgary was the first city in Canada to embark on the ten-year goal to end homelessness. Seven years in, progress has been slow, says the Calgary Homeless Foundation.

Seniors from all over the country are getting on board – literally – to help bring healthcare services to those without access to them in the developing world. Mercy Ships is an international, faith-based organisation that uses volunteers aboard hospital ships to deliver a variety of skills to 70 counties around the world. It was founded in 1978 and has been operating ever since.

When Katie Gerke was a child all she wanted to be when she grew up was a horse. That would have been impossible, yet the way life actually turned out has been next to impossible. Katie was born in Saskatchewan and moved to Drayton Valley with her family at an early age. When she was 15, the family moved to Calgary. Both parents were alcoholics; her mother died from cirrhosis of the liver when Katie was only 19 years old.

Last week, I put a call out on Twitter asking people to name their favourite soup in the city, looking for a little help with my research. I expected a sprinkling of responses, but what I got was a deluge. It turns out us Calgarians are soup superfans, and opinions run strong and plentiful. Soup season has barely started and runs a long time so why not branch out and try some of the great suggestions put forward by the soup aficionados?

An organization that provides assistance dogs to a variety of special needs sectors in Alberta is in desperate need of help with training their puppies. Dogs with Wings became a registered charity in 1996 and at first dealt with guide dogs only, later adding a service dog program, therapy dogs and eventually including autism service dogs for children.

More than two million Canadians aged 45 years and older provide care on a regular basis to a senior loved one with a chronic health condition. In most cases, family members and friends – known as informal caregivers - provide all of the help that the care receiver needs. Without their assistance, the care receiver might otherwise have to move to some type of residential care setting.

Like most academics, John Verney believes in lifelong learning, and like almost all university students, he takes his studies seriously. But there is one significant difference between this man and most other dedicated scholars: Verney is 83 years old, and in his 19th year of continuous learning at the University of Calgary.

Two Alberta women knit together almost immediately upon meeting and in more ways than one. Kalea Turner-Beckman was completing a Master's degree in Yarn and Feminist Activism. Anna Davidson is an Assistant Stage Manager with the Edmonton Opera.

The longest serving provincial court judge in the province whose first bestselling book sparked both controversy and praise across the country, is about to launch his second offering in a trilogy detailing his battle with the justice system and his quest for Aboriginal fairness in Canada.

As a former politician and lawyer, an Alberta woman has made it her mission in retirement to advocate for water and its management, something she admits she became passionate about out of anger. When officials in Cochrane, just west of Calgary made a decision to fill in a picturesque gully behind her house, she became incensed.