Wood’s Homes is a mental health centre. We provide treatment and support for children, young people, adults and families with mental health needs. We proudly serve in Calgary, Lethbridge, Strathmore, Fort McMurray, Cold Lake, Grande Prairie and Lac La Biche.
Wood’s Homes is proudly a provincial organization. We humbly acknowledge the many First Nations, and Metis districts from the most Southern parts of the province to the most Northern parts. We acknowledge their contributions and responsibilities as caregivers to the lands they have walked since time and immemorial. We are all treaty people, and Wood’s Homes is committed to coming together in a good way that continues to build good relations for all people.
Founded as an orphanage by Reverend George Wood in 1914, we are a place of caring and trust. A place you can turn to for help when you don’t know what else to do, or when you have nowhere else to turn.
Wood’s Homes is based in Calgary (on three large campuses and in several neighbourhoods across the city) with locations in Lethbridge, Strathmore, Fort McMurray, Cold Lake, Lac La Biche and Grand Prairie. Our 500 staff and 100 volunteers provide 40+ programs and services for 20,000 children and their families every year.
We are accredited through Accreditation Canada and have earned two Leading Practice Awards, and Exemplary Standing status four times.
Wood’s Homes is nationally recognized for our innovative and groundbreaking services. We are proud of our research in children’s mental health. In 2001, we established a Research Department and in 2016, we launched the Wood’s Homes Research Chair in Children’s Mental Health, in a partnership with the University of Calgary’s Faculty of Social Work. Learn more about the Chair – Dr. Angelique Jenney – by visiting this page.
In 1914, Reverend George Wood said “yes” to a soldier who asked him to care for his two young children so he could serve overseas. He pledged to look after Willie and Mary while their father went to war.
We work on 3 large campuses in Calgary – in Bowness, Parkdale, and Inglewood. We also work in several communities across Calgary and provide services in Lethbridge, Strathmore and Fort McMurray, Grande Prairie, Cold Lake, and Lac La Biche.
It is true there is similar work being carried out, but each agency specializes in meeting different needs of the community. These specialized services fill vital gaps in the social support system. The diversity and immediate response ensure that very difficult and often complicated social needs are addressed with minimal bureaucratic delay.
Partnerships are vital to the success of our programs. We have informal and formal partnerships with many groups including the Calgary Board of Education, Calgary Homeless Foundation, Alberta Health Services, United Way, University of Calgary, and many others. For a list of our formal partnerships, click here.
Wood’s Homes is also engaged in multiple levels of advocacy. This includes ongoing liaison with various levels of government, community groups and organizations including ALIGN, the Child Welfare League of Canada, the Association of Fundraising Professionals, the Calgary Chamber of Voluntary Organizations, and others.
Yes, we are accredited by Accreditation Canada. An external review takes place in 3- or 4-year cycles and is a time to focus on quality improvement. The process helps organizations such as ours improve quality and safety by shining a light on processes that work well, and those that need more attention. The result is safe, high quality, client-centred care. We are proud to have received Exemplary Standing in June 2023, for the fourth time in a row!
Yes, that was the name of our organization at one time, but we have been non-denominational for the past few decades. We officially removed the word Christian from our name in 2007.
Children, young people and families from Calgary. But we do work with clients across the province and even some from different provinces across Canada.
Approximately 150 young people live with us on any given day; 32 typically on each of our Calgary campuses. We provide 40+ programs and services which fall under these pillars:
– In-Home & Counselling Services
– Therapeutic Campus Care
– Foster Care, Therapeutic Foster Care, Parented Group Home
– Community Group Care and Specialized Group Care
– Housing & Hub Services
– Learning Centres
Most of the young people who live with us are 12-18 years old. We have a program called U12 for children under 12 and our Inglewood Opportunity Hub serves young people to age 29.
Some clients do. Most of our clients are simply experiencing tough times – they have come to us with backgrounds of abuse, neglect, and trauma. The young people who live with us are not in secure treatment.
We are one of the largest (and oldest) child and family-serving agencies in Western Canada, with 600 staff and hundreds of volunteers. Our average annual operating budget is $40M. Each year, we work with more than 20,000 children, young people and families and respond to more than 15,000 crisis calls.
No. Young people from outside the province are here under independent contract. Their respective governments pay for their treatment and their education costs as well.
The cost varies depending on the program or service, but it is approximately $600 per day. This amount covers all the expenses for the client, everything from food, shelter, clothing, and education to specialized mental health treatment services. These costs are approximately 1/3 the cost of hospital-based treatment programs.
Wood’s Homes is an independent, non-profit, community-owned, and governed agency. Wood’s Homes has three Boards of Directors:
1. Wood’s Homes (OpCo)
2. Wood’s Homes Society (PropertyCo)
3. Wood’s Homes Foundation
The Wood’s Homes Society is the parent company to Wood’s Homes and the Wood’s Homes Foundation and is responsible for the property and financial assets of the organization.
The Boards of Directors are supported by multiple committees that include community advisory members with significant professional credentials and experience in the sector.
Our Chief Executive Officer Bjorn Johansson started in May 2020. He has been with the organization for more than three decades.
We are an independent, non-profit organization. Our operating funds are drawn principally from contracts and grants with provincial governments, including the ministries of Alberta Children’s Services; Alberta Health Services; Persons with Developmental Disabilities; School Boards; and the Ministry of Health. Some programs use a fee-for-service model with a variety of funding sources. Any discretionary funding for new or innovative programs is raised within the community, via the Wood’s Homes Foundation. Capital funding is almost entirely raised from private and community sources.
