Groups & Events

The CASS Client Advisory Council is a client driven group that exists to promote self-advocacy and provide feedback to CASS senior leadership about how CASS operations can be improved upon including organizational structures to better meet the needs of those we serve. The Council also provides members with opportunities to discuss their experiences with issues and resources within the Calgary disability community.

Being part of the CASS Client Advocacy Council group allows you to learn more about the internal operations of CASS and provide feedback about maintaining and/or improving things within the organization. The committee works together to form ideas that can help impact services received at CASS as well as within the greater community. The Client Advocacy Council helps form ideas that can be used to create change in the lives of people with disabilities. The CASS Advocacy groups meets every second month and is open to any CASS client who wishes to attend.

For more information about the this group, contact the CASS Advisory Forum directly by using our contact page.

The CASS dinner club has been one of the most successful programs to date. On the first Wednesday of every month a group of clients go out for dinner at a different restaurant. For information about the next Dinner Club, check out our events calendar below or contact the Dinner Club Coordinator on our contact page, or leave a message on our events line: (403)283-0611 ext. 615.

The Friendships and Dating Program is a ten-week program held twice per week in small co-ed groups. The Friendships and Dating Program (FDP) is an evidence-based, comprehensive approach developed by the University of Alaska’s Center for Human Development. The goals of the program include empowering individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities with the skills needed to develop and maintain meaningful relationships and to develop skills to prevent and mitigate interpersonal violence. The program is open to all CASS clients from any CASS program area. Friendships and Dating classes run approximately 1.5 hours and focus on building fundamental social skills in both a group classroom setting and through experiential learning in community settings. The program covers a variety of skills such as the following:

• Learn the fundamentals of feelings, emotions and how to express them in a healthy way
• To be able to identify all types of relationships in our lives and how-to appropriately exercise personal and professional boundaries
• To develop the appropriate social skills when meeting people and how to use these skills to maintain healthy relationships
• To gain clarity into the dating process from start to finish, including identifying safe dating skills and appropriate dating choices
• To explore all areas of sexual health, sexuality identity, gender identity and gender expression
• To fully understand consent and how our actions with consent can affect our relationships with our peers and the wider community
• To learn how to navigate conflict and end relationships in a respectful and safe manner

To register for an upcoming Friendships and Dating course at Calgary Alternative Support Services please fill out a Registration Form (PDF), and submit it to friendship@c-a-s-s.org. Please right-click on the link to the registration form and select “save as” to download the form to your device. Please use Adobe Acrobat Reader for best results.

For more information on the Friendships and Dating Program or to register for a class, you can email friendship@c-a-s-s.org or call the CASS Main Office at 403.283.0611.