Blog

Over the past several months everyone has been tested to their limits with the global Covid-19 pandemic and many have experienced adversity and even trauma as a result of this unprecedented time in our history. When we, as individuals, experience difficulties & hardship, the capacity to recover quickly, change course, emotionally heal, and move forward,…

Good good Morning! You know what I love about CASS? YOU! You are people supporting people. You are people continuing to support people even when there’s a worldwide pandemic, when you could get sick, when the folks we support are struggling with staying in and being bored. THANK YOU for putting yourself out there for…

“Be the reason someone feels valued, seen, heard, and important”. This is a quote that has been floating around recently, which feels particularly relevant to the work we do at CASS. When the agency was created in 1988, the vision was to address the inequities that people with disabilities often face such as Isolation, segregation,…

Good morning and Happy Monday! When you woke up this morning, did you feel a little stiffer than usual? Light-headed? Sluggish? Or maybe jumpy? Well, turns out there might be a very logical reason. I read a fact sheet last week put out by the Psycho-Social Emergency Response Team (PSERT) of Health Canada. I want…

Welcome to another week of mental health and mindfulness! These past three months have been a ride, haven’t they? How have you made it through? How have you kept your head above water despite the constantly changing information, the disconnect from your social network, the overwhelming amount of loss that you and/or your loved ones…

At CASS, we truly believe that the world and our industry are made better by People Supporting People. That phrase reflects our values both in the way that we deliver frontline support, and the way that our agency operates internally. In order for the people of CASS’s frontline staff to support people, it is important…

Our lives have become smaller in the past three months than ever. I don’t know about you, but staring at the same four walls day in and day out tests my patience, my optimism, and my strength. I fluctuate between moments of numbing and denial with moments of ready-to-burst panic and confusion. It doesn’t feel…

Friday March 13th was the last day that things seemed normal. Everyone was feeling a little anxious with the news stories about Covid-19: the cases were rapidly rising in Alberta. Days later, on the following Sunday afternoon, a global pandemic was declared by the World Health Organization. Toilet paper was flying off the shelves, along…

I’d like to introduce myself. My name is Melanie and I’ve worked at CASS for 4 years now! While I’ve worked with people who have developmental disabilities my whole adult life, I’ve been a counselling therapist for 11 years. My counselling approach is mainly cognitive behavioral therapy with lots of integration of mindfulness and dialectical…

Welcome to our new website! As you can see, our website has been given a complete makeover. This development has been a long time coming as the previous incarnation had been in service for well over 10 years and was clearly getting long in the tooth. A big thank you is owed to the CASS…