David Kirby, our Clinical Services Manager, has achieved a remarkable milestone – 20 years of service as a member of our staff at Distress Centre Calgary. But David’s journey at DCC started long before he became an employee. David first joined DCC as a volunteer back in 1996, fresh out of school for kinesiology and psychology.
In 1996, he was finishing his bachelor’s degree when he saw an ad in the newspaper for crisis line volunteers. He submitted his application and was accepted.
“I still remember the very first coaching shift I did, and I remember commenting that I learned more in that one shift on the lines than I did doing the psychology degree. It was that fascinating. It was that complex and and that interesting.”
While volunteering, he began his master’s in social work. As he was finishing up his masters, he had the opportunity to apply for a staff position at DCC in 2004, as one of the first call-takers for the 211 information and referral line. 211 would officially launch in Calgary in 2005.
Counselling
Shortly after that, a position for a crisis counsellor opened up and David applied and was successful. 20 years later, David remains a cornerstone of our counselling department, leading our small but mighty counselling team as Clinical Services Manager.
“The pathway to where I currently am was facilitated by the universe. It opened doors where previously I didn’t imagine that there would be an open door.”
How fortunate we are that the universe brought David to Distress Centre.
“David’s commitment to supporting the development of crisis counsellors is both undeniable and admirable,” said Mike Velthuis Kroeze, Director of Programs and Performance at DCC. “His desire to create opportunities for professional growth have been a cornerstone of the counselling program for decades and we are all tremendously grateful.”
Change and Growth
As David reflects on the last 20+ years, he says what he remembers most are the people — the people he’s supervised, as well as the colleagues at DCC and in the sector who he’s worked with over the years.
Though many changes at DCC stand out to David, like the move away from rotary phones or the controversial-at-the-time decision to ban smoking in our contact centre (then called the phone room), David says the biggest change he’s witnessed is simply the growth of Distress Centre as an agency and within the wider community.
When David first joined DCC there were two programs: the crisis lines and the counselling program. Our programming has since grown to include 211, Coordinated Entry, the Basic Needs Fund, expanded partnerships like 211/911 Co-location and the growth of the Teen Line into ConnecTeen.
“The evolution of how much Distress Centre has grown in its significance related to meeting these very specialized needs in the community has been incredibly important. It has clearly underscored the critical importance of Distress Centre in terms of the well-being of our society here in Calgary and across the province.”
The technology looks different from when David first joined the counselling team, but the work remains largely the same.
“It’s about meeting people where they’re at with all kinds of different presenting concerns.”
He acknowledges that the needs of those seeking counselling have grown more complex.
“People are struggling with more challenges now,” David said. “There are persistent psychiatric mental health issues they’re dealing with. There’s a lack of resources, there’s income, cost of living, everything that just seems more significant for people as a barrier now to a more enjoyable, meaningful life.”
The advice David offers to those seeking a more meaningful life is to make building strong relationships and connections to other people a priority, whether those are friendships, romantic relationships, or family relationships.
“A lot of clients who come to see us are struggling with this tremendous absence of meaning in their life. And whether that’s through occupation or service to others, the aspect of feeling connected, feeling appreciated, feeling loved, just trumps everything else.”
Joy in Supervision
The highlight of David’s job is supervising and mentoring counsellors, many of whom are new in their roles and in the field.
“There’s a lot of learning, a lot of coaching and mentoring, and that’s what I enjoy the most — watching people succeed where they struggled and become more confident and more self-assured in the face of really challenging situations.”
Though David now has now spent over 20 years at DCC and most of the counsellors he has supervised have come and gone — he thinks the number of counsellors he’s supervised must number in the 30s — he’s still deriving plenty of meaning from his work here.
“Distress Centre is so critical to the mental health of the community that I can’t imagine a world where Distress Centre doesn’t exist in doing what it does. And so being here supporting the mission, vision and mandate of DCC is absolutely critical to me.”
“For me, this is the best place to be.”
Congratulations David on your 20-year anniversary! Thank you for dedicating so much of your life to DCC.
Learn more about volunteering and working at DCC.
