Turning Point Society

Turning Point Society Turning Point is a registered charity supporting safer, healthier communities for Central Albertans.

Formally known as the Central Alberta AIDS Network Society (CAANS), Turning Point was established in 1988 as a community-based response to Central Alberta's HIV/AIDS crisis. In addition to health promotion, our organization has since expanded its reach, incorporating programming specific to harm reduction, night reach, rural outreach, overdose prevention, and a women’s program. These programs and

services extend to communities across Central Alberta (including Red Deer, Drumheller, Hanna, Camrose, Flagstaff, Samson, Stettler, Rocky Mountain House, O’Chiese First Nation, and Wetaskiwin). Whether you're looking for harm reduction and STBBI preventative resources or are in need of ongoing support, our professionals are here to help. Turning Point continues to identify and support the complex needs of each community we serve, providing education, supplies, and services with compassion, confidentiality, respect, collaboration, and empowerment.

05/22/2026

Community members are invited to participate in a powerful and immersive Poverty Simulation where participants take on the roles of members of diverse families experiencing poverty.
This impactful experience, hosted by Central Alberta Poverty Reduction Alliance (CAPRA) and facilitated by United Way Central Alberta, is designed to help participants better understand the realities faced by individuals and families living on low incomes in Red Deer.
This hands-on simulation that challenges perceptions, builds empathy, and brings the complexity of poverty to life.
Would you like to take part? Register at https://www.zeffy.com/en-CA/ticketing/poverty-simulator

It has been several weeks of being welcomed into the Salvation Army’s space in downtown Red Deer, and we are so thankful...
05/21/2026

It has been several weeks of being welcomed into the Salvation Army’s space in downtown Red Deer, and we are so thankful for this opportunity. We anticipated needing 3 staff to support the afternoon, and we weren’t wrong. There is a huge need in our community for the most basic things, like snacks, clothing, and hygiene products. We are here every Thursday afternoon from 1PM - 4PM.

In this photo Kat and Darby are freshly set up and posing for a quick photo before clients are let in to browse and access supplies they need.

Thank you to everyone who has donated items to us to give out during our outreach and at tables like this. If you are interested in donating, we are always looking for hygiene supplies, snacks, and weather appropriate clothing. Because of this opportunity to have a space to set up in, we can hand out things that are otherwise difficult, like footwear. Right now, we need sunscreen and bug spray. When folks have no shelter, they end up with unruly sunburns and insect bites.

Donations can be brought to our office downtown at 402-4808 50th St, Red Deer, Monday – Friday. We are closed for lunch between 12pm – 1pm. It is always recommended to give us a call before heading over at 403-346-8858.

Without our drop-in space, our services are primarily delivered through mobile backpack outreach. Our DayReach program s...
05/20/2026

Without our drop-in space, our services are primarily delivered through mobile backpack outreach. Our DayReach program started in late 2025 and over the months of its operation we have refined its delivery model as we receive feedback from clients, staff, and the community. As with any new program, we will continue to adapt to meet the needs of the community.

Today, DayReach focuses primarily on basic needs and is identified by a purple backpack. We know how much time and effort it takes to survive when you are living without stable housing, food, safety and resources. Addressing basic needs for vulnerable persons increases their capacity to tackle bigger picture goals. Staff go out to hand out snacks, hygiene supplies, clothing, and naloxone, and come equipped to help clients with referrals and any necessary follow-up care. Staff are trained in basic first aid and can help folks get medical care for injuries or wounds they come across that need more attention.

DayReach has partnered with the Salvation Army to provide services at their downtown location every Thursday afternoon from 1pm to 4pm, which has created more opportunity for clients to access services as they know where they can find us.

In this photo we see Kat with the purple backpack alongside Nolan, ready to meet folks where they are at.

Each year, Red Deer Action Group Society distributes bus tickets to local agencies through their Donate-A-Ride program. ...
05/12/2026

Each year, Red Deer Action Group Society distributes bus tickets to local agencies through their Donate-A-Ride program. These tickets are given to folks that need to get to appointments, health care, employment, or other social services. Donate-A-Ride isn’t possible without community involvement and sponsorship. If you’d like to get involved to ensure that folks without their own transportation are able to get to where they need to go, consider donating to RDAGS Donate-A-Ride program.

Turning Point has been a recipient of their Donate-A-Ride program for many, many years. This year we were generously gifted 400 bus tickets. Thank you to the Red Deer Action Group Society, and all those who contribute and make this gift possible.

https://rdags.ca/donate-a-ride-red-deer

This week we want to show our appreciation for all the work nurse's do within our agency. Nurses are on both our DayReac...
05/11/2026

This week we want to show our appreciation for all the work nurse's do within our agency. Nurses are on both our DayReach and NightReach teams, lead our Overdose Prevention Program, and sit on our Board of Directors.

The nurses on our Board of Directors provide a nursing lens on all that we do. They help us understand health impacts that folks experience and help guide our programming to ensure nursing care is delivered in the most impactful way possible.

Our staff nurses are out there on the ground with folks, doing what they can with the resources that they have. They help clients navigate the healthcare system and explain topics to folks in a way that they understand – without all the medical jargon. They provide direct nursing care like wound care and assessments and provide guidance for folks on what their next steps could be. Being street involved is hard on the body – we see many injuries during our outreach. Folks are required to be incredibly mobile, so foot injuries are common. Folks outside experience sunburns and frostbite depending on the season. The toxic drug supply and its contaminants cause sores and lesions across the body. Insect bites, trips, falls, and violence add more layers to people’s health needs.

Keeping nurses involved in our agency is a priority. Historically, they have played key roles in our service delivery and development, and they continue to do so today.

To our nurses: We recognize the circumstances of which you work under, and we thank you for all the contributions, support, and care that you give despite it all.

While this photo is missing a few faces, you are looking at the team behind Turning Point. Behind every program, outreac...
05/10/2026

While this photo is missing a few faces, you are looking at the team behind Turning Point. Behind every program, outreach shift, coffee run, crisis call, naloxone kit, and conversation is a team of people who care deeply about the folks we support, each other, and our community as a whole. Together, we support people where they’re at with compassion and dignity to create a healthier community for all.

Thank you to everyone, truly.

Today is our birthday! Since 1988, we have been in the community supporting folks experiencing marginalization. We were ...
05/09/2026

Today is our birthday! Since 1988, we have been in the community supporting folks experiencing marginalization. We were founded as the Central Alberta AIDS Network, and worked to support folks impacted by the AIDS crisis in our community. Early into the crisis, research highlighted the transmission risk of AIDS in injection drug use, which we were seeing in our own community. We have been a support system for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, people who use drugs, and anyone else impacted by the AIDS and HIV for nearly 4 decades. Today, we support folks by connecting them with testing, and when necessary, with system navigation and support for their well-being. As the decades have gone on, community needs have grown, and now we support a diverse range of folks in many different ways.

We've existed in the community for 38 years, and will continue to be the safety net that so many folks rely on for as long as we can.

05/09/2026

✨ONGOING LOCAL FUNDRAISER✨

Hey Community,

Our friends over at Shining Mountains LCS are currently running a bottle drive for the month of May! The funds that come from the gathered donations will go towards helping them cover the costs of providing snacks and beverages, as well as seasonally appropriate clothing, accessories and personal items to our fellow community members experiencing various levels of hardship.

If you would like to donate your recyclables to their fundraiser, you can drop off directly at their office, located at: 4925 46 Street, at any time from 8:30AM to 4PM, Monday to Friday, until the end of this month! 🧃🍾

May 5th marks Red Dress Day. In 2010, Métis artist Jaime Black created the REDress Project – a visual art installation w...
05/05/2026

May 5th marks Red Dress Day. In 2010, Métis artist Jaime Black created the REDress Project – a visual art installation where red dresses were left hanging in public spaces. From this, a grassroots movement formed and May 5th became a day where we are called on to remember, honour, and seek justice for missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQI+ (MMIWG2S+) peoples. 16 years later, doing so is just as important as it ever was.

We want to make sure that everyone is getting their mail. Since we no longer have a mail service, we want to remind ever...
05/03/2026

We want to make sure that everyone is getting their mail. Since we no longer have a mail service, we want to remind everyone to update their mailing address.

If your agency has a mail service and your client is still having some or all of their mail sent to us, with the proper consents in place we can work together to get folks their mail.

If you are a client of ours and want to know if we still receive mail for you, please reach out to us and we can let you know and help get your address changed.

PHONE: 403-346-8858
EMAIL: administration@turningpoint-ca.org

Students are a big part of Turning Point. Tianna, in the Addictions and Community Health program at Sundance College, st...
05/02/2026

Students are a big part of Turning Point. Tianna, in the Addictions and Community Health program at Sundance College, started with us March 23rd and spent her time with us learning from our Community Outreach and Referral Specialist, Ben. Sadly, April 29th was her last day with us. While she was here, she attended system navigator meetings to learn about the different agencies and supports available to folks, and the ways in which we all work together in the community to support our most vulnerable. She attended meetings with clients for hands-on experience, joined our DayReach team providing mobile outreach to the downtown core, and improved our office by organizing donations and putting supplies together.

We wish Tianna all the best on her future endeavors, and thank her, and all the students past, present, and future, that have made Turning Point what it is.

Address

Calgary, AB

Opening Hours

Monday 9:15am - 4:30pm
Tuesday 9:15am - 4:30pm
Wednesday 9:15am - 4:30pm
Thursday 9:15am - 4:30pm
Friday 9:15am - 4:30pm

Telephone

+14033468858

Website

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