Wood’s Homes

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Wood’s Homes Research
EXIT Community Outreach: Research in Action
EXIT Community Outreach has been offering counselling, referral, and basic needs services to atrisk
youth in Calgary since 1989. This program aims to assist in the well-being of youth by offering
life-skills training, resource referrals, mental and sexual health support, and counselling services. Many
EXIT clients may often be experiencing homelessness and lack of social support, and some are also
involved with the legal system or sexual exploitation.
EXIT operates in the heart of downtown Calgary, making it an easy access point for clients, who use this
service more than 16,000 a year. EXIT does not require its clients to abstain from using substances or
to have the desire to leave the streets in order to be able to access the services provided. Instead, EXIT
staff ascribe to a harm-reduction model to support clients in ways in which they are comfortable.
Since EXIT does not require any personal identifiers in order to access its services, it has been
difficult to accurately track demographic information. Despite the difficulties in the feasibility of data
collection with such a large population, this information is essential for the continuation of service
provision as it can help to inform potential and current funders of the necessity of these services.
Also a better understanding of the clients served can contribute to increasing the relevance of, or
modification to services.
In recent years, Wood’s Homes has worked hard to find practical ways to track and measure EXIT client
demographic information and improvement. One example is the implementation of the Check-In Form.
This brief questionnaire is completed by clients who agree to have their information tracked in a highly
confidential manner. They are not required to use personally indentifying information and do not need
to complete the form in order to access the services.
Data from the check-in form was compiled in 2012 and is an example of the type of practical, demographic
information that can be gathered in a non-invasive manner. As a result, Wood’s Homes now has a better
idea of the type of client accessing our services at EXIT Community Outreach.
Check-in form 2012 highlights # % # %
Age:
Substances used in last 24hrs:
18-21 272 39.0 Marijuana 181 25.9
22-24 279 40.0 Alcohol 140 20.0
Gender: Prescription medication 29 4.1
Male 414 59.4 Crack 16 2.3
Female 283 40.6 Frequency of depressed mood:
Ethnicity: Never 195 27.2
Caucasian 368 52.6 Sometimes 191 26.6
Aboriginal 225 32.2 Almost always 74 10.3
Plans for the Day:
Ability to meet basic needs:
Hang out 290 41.5 Almost always 215 30.8
Go to work 135 19.3 Sometimes 214 30.6
Visit with family/friends 134 19.2 Rarely/never 102 14.6
Witness violence in past 24 hours?
Frequency of extra spending money:
Yes 67 9.6 Almost always 52 7.4
Frequency of substance use: Sometimes 180 25.8
Never 192 27.5 Rarely/never 376 53.8
Weekends 112 16.0
Daily 95 13.6
* multiple answers included in data; only most common answers included
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1987:
Community Resource Team (CRT):
CRT is a 24/7 phone and mobile crisis response
service that was started to provide immediate
crisis intervention phone services to families at
risk of breaking down.
Family Restoration Program
A short-term program focusing on restoring family
harmony.
1989:
Exit Community Outreach:
Phoenix
A storefront in downtown Calgary, it provides basic
(formerly CRC - Canadian Resource Centre)
needs as well as skills and hope for the future to
CRC was an open-custody program for young people
homeless youth (12-24) and/or young people at risk
from the Calgary Young Offenders Centre. Phoenix
of sexual exploitation.
developed over time from the CRC program,
Eastside Family Centre
focusing on sexually intrusive behaviours of young
The brainchild of Dr. Arnie Slive and Dr. Philip men. Dr. Philip Perry, former CEO of Wood’s Homes,
Perry, Eastside was the first resource of its kind started Phoenix as it seemed young people with
in Canada, providing a community-based, walkin,
single-session model of mental health service
sexual development issues were being ignored.
1990-1996:
delivery that was affordable, accessible and
Wood’s Homes delivered a series of satellite school
immediate.
programs for work experience. They included
Northern Network of Services
Discovering Choices, New Directions and Turning
The NNS was located in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory Points.
for about six years. It was a residential program
1991:
with stabilization, family focus and exceptional
Canadiana Centre
needs components for 13-17 year-old youth and
Canadiana was a four-part addictions program
their families who lived throughout the YT. In 1994,
operating as a fee-for-service facility for Alberta
the program was taken over by a community board
youth and their families. Canadiana was a
but ended two years later.
partnership with the business community of
1990:
Calgary, operating for three years without
Caregiver Network
government funding (mostly through private
A collection of three foster homes in the northwest donations). Asokina evolved from Canadiana,
of Calgary that assisted with youth transitioning and was a solvent-abuse program supported by a
from residential services.
contribution agreement from Ottawa. This fee-forservice
for substance-abuse treatment program
remained First Nations-based for almost four years.
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