What We Do
Community LAMDA provides staff-supported, affordable, apartment-style homes for adults in Calgary who experience chronic mental illness. The Mission site has 36 single-occupancy apartments and the Killarney site has 16 two-bedroom apartments. Overall, LAMDA serves a total of 62 people.
Tenants receive support from two staff members who are Independent Living Support workers (ILS workers). The support workers are experience professionals whose role is to help sustain community supports for the tenants, make sure their housing is well organized and safe, and to ensure that the tenants’ independence is safeguarded and enhanced.
The ILS workers at both locations work Monday - Friday, 9am - 5pm, with occasional evenings for activities.
The ILS worker supports the tenants by:
- Acting as liaison for tenants’ individual mental health service providers
- Offering social, leisure, educational, health promotion and skill development activities
- Facilitating various activities to help tenants develop and maintain routine skills such as personal hygiene, meal planning, grocery shopping, household maintenance, money management and transportation
- Promoting and facilitating tenant involvement in leisure and community activities. Tenants’ general meetings are held monthly to discuss and suggest activities of interest
Additional Support
- Working with tenants families, case managers and support teams from Alberta health services mental health clinics, the programs and hospitals
- Assisting tenants’ with completion of AISH and rent review forms as well as filing of income tax returns
- Maintaining contact with AISH workers regarding tenants’ financial concerns and AISH review forms
- Supporting tenants involvement at Schizophrenia Society, Potential Place, Calgary Association of Self Help and Canadian Mental Health Association
- Providing tours of the facilities and presentations of the LAMDA services
