Services
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Citizen exercising
Citizenship is at the heart of what we do
Who we help and how.
Skills Society supports people with disabilities, their families and their communities.
We do this by first focusing on the universal themes that connect us all:
- Safeguarding emotional and physical well-being
- Enhancing opportunities to contribute and belong
- Growing material well-being through employment
- Supporting continuous growth and learning
Our supports
At Skills we respect the right of every individual and their family to direct and control the services they receive in order to live purposeful lives and experience meaningful relationships.
We provide support that is:
- Flexible, recognizing that people and their circumstances can and do change
- Customized to fit each individual
- Designed to create meaningful and purposeful daily lives
- Built around continuous learning — meeting an individual’s needs, and innovating as those needs change and evolve
At Skills, we build each of our services to help people with disabilities thrive in five pillars of everyday life.
What this looks like:
- Making a house feel like a home
- Building and strengthening connections with roommates, neighbours, friends and family
- Establishing healthy and meaningful routines together
- Completing day-to-day tasks like budgeting and grocery shopping
What this looks like:
- Making and sustaining friendships along with healthy, romantic relationships
- Establishing social networks with friends, neighbors and colleagues
- Nurturing family relationships
What this looks like:
- Finding and maintaining paid employment
- Developing new skills through volunteering
- Pursuing education or job-related training
What this looks like:
- Setting and attending medical appointments
- Establishing healthy eating habits and exercise routines
- Assisting with personal hygiene
- Supporting medication management
- Supporting mental and emotional wellbeing
What this looks like:
- Participating in neighbourhood activities
- Sharing talents with the community
- Discovering fun and meaningful things to do
We help adults with developmental disabilities, children and their families, and survivors of acquired brain injury.
Adults with Developmental Disabilities
Skills Society is proud to provide community support for approximately 350 adults with disabilities each year. We create individualized support plans tailored to an individual’s needs and wants, as well as to the funding available to them. For some people, we may provide a few hours of outreach support each week. For others, it involves 24/7 supported community living, including assistance with daily living and/or support to create and maintain meaningful connections with friends, family and the greater community.
Funding for Adult Supports comes from the Persons with Developmental Disabilities Program (PDD), a part of Alberta’s Ministry of Human Services. All adults supported by Skills Society meet PDD eligibility and are approved for funding.
Children and their Families
Typically, families of children with significant disabilities often have a more difficult time finding services to suit their needs. Skills Society’s Woodcroft Home serves these families with out-of-home respite care for children with disabilities. Services can range depending on the complexity of care required, but all support is provided by well-trained, experienced staff in a safe and supportive environment.
Skills Society works with Children and Family Services to determine eligibility and all children and families supported by Skills Society have a current and active contract with the Family Support for Children with Disabilities (FSCD) Program – part of Alberta’s Ministry of Human Services.
Survivors of Acquired Brain Injury
Skills Society is one of two agencies in Edmonton to receive funding from Alberta’s Ministry of Human Services to provide community-based support to adult survivors of an acquired brain injury. In collaboration with the referring Alberta Brain Injury Network, three employees of Skills Society support survivors of acquired brain injury. Programs include rehabilitation, accessing resources and services, relationship building, and establishing connections in the community. These flexible supports are available to people who are over the age of 18.
Anyone who has been diagnosed with an acquired brain injury can apply for support from Skills Society and referrals often come from health care professionals and caregivers.
To learn more, please email Lasha Robert at lashar@skillssociety.ca
Referral Form (link)
More information is also available here:
PowerPoint about the SCLS program (link)
Resources for Acquired Brain Injury (link)
