On 11th Avenue Southwest in Calgarys Beltline neighborhood, the WINS Community Resource Hub operates as a by appointment support center run by Women in Need Society, a Calgary based nonprofit whose stated mission is to help women and their families thrive by providing access to basic needs, emotional support, and employment training. Unlike a walk in retail location, this Beltline site functions specifically as a service hub, open Tuesday through Friday from 9 in the morning until 4:30 in the afternoon, with visits arranged by appointment so Community Support Workers can dedicate real time to each person who comes through the door.
The hub’s programming centers on practical, everyday needs alongside longer term goal setting. Visitors can access help with tax filing, a service that matters enormously for lower income households trying to claim benefits and credits they are otherwise entitled to, alongside emotional support and connection to Community Support Workers who help people work toward individual goals, whether that means stabilizing housing, building job skills, or simply having a consistent point of contact during a difficult stretch. The hub also runs monthly family engagement events and educational and fun workshops, along with child and youth programming and social activities designed to build community connection rather than treating each visitor as an isolated case.
WINS positions its broader operation as a social enterprise, meaning revenue generated through its retail arm, which includes seven thrift stores across Calgary along with a location called the MORE Store, is reinvested directly into programs like the Beltline hub rather than distributed as profit. That model lets the organization combine a donation and retail based revenue stream with direct donor contributions to fund frontline support work, an approach that gives shoppers at any WINS thrift location a direct line of sight into where their purchase dollars end up. The organization also absorbed furniture inventory, equipment, and funding from the Inter Faith Furniture Society when that organization closed in 2023, an infusion that helped expand WINS’ capacity to support Calgary families in need.
For residents of the Beltline and surrounding inner city neighborhoods, having a dedicated Community Support Worker hub within walking distance matters in ways that are easy to overlook: appointment based models reduce the intimidation factor of walking into an unfamiliar social service office, and locating the hub inside the neighborhood itself, rather than centralizing all services downtown or in a single citywide office, puts help closer to where people already live and work. The hub can be reached directly by phone or email to book time with a Community Support Worker, and staff can also help connect visitors to WINS’ other locations and programs across the city if a different hub or service is a better fit.
Anyone searching for basic needs support, tax filing help, or family programming in Calgarys Beltline neighborhood will find the WINS Community Resource Hub built around one clear purpose: connecting women and families with the practical support, emotional care, and skill building resources they need to move toward greater stability, funded in part by the same nonprofit’s citywide network of thrift stores.
