Arthur R. Smith Awards

Huge congratulations to the winners of the Arthur R. Smith awards, who were celebrated on October 6 for their contributions to ending homelessness in Calgary. The awards were presented by Trevor Daroux, Deputy Chief of the Calgary Police Service and Betty Ann Smith, honourary patron of the Calgary Homeless Foundation (CHF) and wife of the late Arthur R. Smith. These recipients were chosen because they reflect Arthur’s compassion and determination to help all his neighbours.

KAIROS, the winner of the Volunteer Award, was instrumental in paying off the $1.5 million mortgage for Acadia Place, spending thousands of hours working alongside CUPS staff to help families and individuals move in.

Devon Oulette, a member of the Calgary Police Service, is the recipient of the Front-Line Employee Award for his work on the Vulnerable Persons Unit, working with service providers like Alpha House to help keep individuals successfully housed.

The Community Treatment Order team, awarded the Front-Line Team Award, helps service providers work with individuals living with complex mental illnesses who are also experiencing homelessness. This team works with Pathways to Housing to increase the stability of their clients.

“These awards recognize all of the work that is done behind the scenes to help people experiencing homelessness in our city,” says Diana Krecsy, President and CEO of CHF. “As a community we’ve housed over 8,000 people since 2008; now we get to celebrate a few of the people who made that possible.”