The Calgary Drop-In Centre releases short film to help bring awareness to year-end fundraising campaign

The Drop-In Centre needs $2 million to cover funding shortfalls and establish new programming. It produced a short video to raise awareness.

The Calgary Drop-In (DI) Centre launched its annual fundraising campaign on Giving Tuesday with a goal of reaching $2,000,000 by January 2026 and to bring awareness to the efforts, it’s released a short film called ‘I Want to Come Home’.

“Homelessness does not discriminate and so I think that’s part of the message that we wanted to portray with that film is that it can happen to anybody,” said DI CEO Sandra Clarkson,. “That is unfortunately one of the common conditions of people that come and seek our services is a lack of and loss of connection and our role is to help guide them to reconnect and ultimately reconnect in community.”

The film is just over four minutes long and the main character is ‘Jamie’. It’s a story about what it takes to reconnect with family, friends and community. In this case it’s a widowed father who fell out of touch with his son after a tragic car crash that resulted in the loss of Jamie’s mother.

Depth of Programming

While the film deals with substance abuse, it’s not a representation of all the clients at the DI, Clarkson said.

“We recognize we need to do a better job about explaining and sharing the breadth and the depth of the programing that we offer here,” said Clarkson.

“One of our relatively new programs is our withdrawal management and recovery transition programs,” said Clarkson, “and so we wanted to take the opportunity to highlight how impactful those programs can be, creating another pathway home for folks that otherwise would not get there.”

All the characters are actors, but the DI says the short film was created in collaboration with people with lived and working experience, including DI front-line employees, Calgary-based filmmakers, local singer/songwriters and local volunteer actors, as well as support from the University of Calgary.

“Each and every service and program that we offer here at the DI is intended to get people into housing permanently with appropriate supports, depending on each unique individual,” said Clarkson.

“In 2018, we shifted to be a housing focused emergency shelter and since that time we’ve housed over 3,500 people and less than five per cent have returned to shelter since that time.”

Kurt Blind, DI First Nation, Inuit, and Metis Cultural Liaison was unhoused and battled addiction 30 years ago in Vancouver.

He’s seen the film and said it was an emotional experience for him.

“I thought it was a very good representation of some of the barriers, some of the challenges but also the beauty of what is possible,” he said. “It was a deeply moving piece for me as I had a client and they didn’t make it home and so it just really it hit me in a different way.”

Blind says society has become comfortable with unhoused being faceless and nameless and it makes it easier for people to cope. He says even though actors were used in the film, they portrayed real people and events.

“That is a reality here,” he said. “That was all based on real events, that is all based on true experiences and I’m just honored to even witness that.”

Learn more about the film and how to make a donation here.