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ABOUT WELLSPRING CALGARY

In 1992, Toronto resident Anne Armstrong Gibson learned that she had cancer. Along with all the other fears about treatment, survival and her family’s future, she experienced something more – an overwhelming sense of isolation. She quickly realized that this was an all-too-common experience among cancer patients.

Determined to fill the void and with the help and encouragement of some of the leading experts in the field of oncology, Ann worked with family, friends, and supporters to establish Wellspring, a community-based non-profit, charitable centre offering psychological, emotional and social support to individuals living with cancer, their families and caregivers.

History of Wellspring

In 1992, Wellspring opened its first centre, The Coach House, on Wellesley Street East in Toronto. In 1999, Wellspring launched its second centre, in north Toronto, on the campus of Sunnybrook & Women's College Health Sciences Centre. Over the following two years, centres serving the regions of Halton-Peel, Niagara and London, Ontario all opened their doors. Although Anne died in 1995, her vision still guides the organization toward achieving a network that will one day span across Canada. Today, there are six community-based Wellspring centres in Ontario, serving over 7000 ‘members’ annually. Expansion has started across the country, with Calgary being the first centre in western Canada. For more information on established centres visit www.wellspring.ca.

Vision

Wellspring is a unique model for the overall care of cancer patients, their loved ones and caregivers. It aims to:

• Meet the social, emotional and spiritual needs of cancer patients, their families and caregivers
• Help cancer patients and their loved ones cope with the fear, isolation, disruption and practical problems which cancer brings to their lives
• Assist people who are living with cancer to re-establish control over their lives.

Purpose

Wellspring provides an innovative and creative approach to the overall care of the whole person. It is a cooperative, community effort, based on the needs of patients and their families. It relies on collaboration between health care professionals and trained peer support volunteers using programs and evaluation protocols designed with the help of oncology experts and advisors.

Wellspring offers its programs and services in a warm and welcoming environment.

It is open to anyone struggling with cancer – the newly diagnosed patient, those who have been re-diagnosed, the long-term survivor and anyone supporting these individuals (caregivers, friends and family members). Services are available without referral and at no cost.

Wellspring aims to complement and add to existing services by creating and fostering collaborative relationships with cancer treatment hospitals/centres and with the wide range of organizations that provide services to patients and their families.
Wellspring will provide:

• Ongoing support programs and services for individuals living with cancer
• Ongoing support programs for family members, friends and caregivers, including groups specifically for children and adolescents
• Group programs and workshops for the development of self help skills
• Education and training for health care professionals
• Evaluation of and research into the role of supportive care in enhancing quality of life and possibly extending longevity.

“I am a breast cancer patient who has found Wellspring to be my oasis. I spent three months on my physical healing and yet no one had cared for my emotional wounds – my fears and expectations. [At Wellspring] I find comfort and serenity in an ideal setting. I feel freedom of expression and I feel acceptance. Hope springs eternal here.”

- HD, Patient/Member

“All of you offer more than support. You offer friendship. For this I am forever thankful. I felt comfortable [at Wellspring]. Everyone made me feel welcome and important. I looked up ‘wellspring’ in Webster’s dictionary and it states, ‘a fountain’. That is truly what you do. You renew the spirit.”

- RJF, Patient/Member