Rowan House Society provides crisis intervention, long term support and preventative education to anyone affected by domestic violence and abuse in our communities across Southern Alberta.

Mission, Vision & Values:

Mission: We are here to break the cycle of domestic violence and abuse in our communities.

Vision: We aspire to compassionately erase domestic violence and abuse.

Values: I-CHANGE. Change begins with us – individually and collectively.

  • We hold ourselves accountable to our principles and commitments.

    We are authentic, transparent, and genuine in how we work as we strive to foster and sustain strong relationships.

  • As those who have sought out our service have demonstrated Courage, we show courage in being creative and innovative in what we do and how we deliver service. We must be bold advocates for services needed today and for a future that truly breaks the cycle of domestic violence and abuse in our communities.

  • We are called to act in a spirit of partnership, inclusion, and respect for all those we serve, all who work with us, and with all our partners and communities.

    We shall always seek to engage in a constructive and supportive fashion with each other and with our clients and partners, seeking to understand and appreciate the realities and perspectives of others and to leverage their skills and experience, and to otherwise maximize the diversity that comes from being a team.

  • The cause we are called to is not for the faint of heart or for those who would wait for someone else to find solutions. We MUST be action-oriented, solutions focused and drive to a new and better reality for all who are experiencing or at risk of experiencing domestic violence and abuse.

  • We are focused and committed to meeting individual and team obligations. Each of us understands and appreciates the impact of our work – quality, timeliness, completeness – on the success of our clients and of Rowan House Society. We must foster and build our team and our relationships – with clients, partners, community, government - to create and sustain the conditions for a society free of domestic violence and abuse.

  • We are continuously prepared to seek out new ways of achieving our goals. To this end we value learning and humility. Recognizing that information and knowledge is rarely perfect and complete, we value mistakes and even failure as learning opportunities, and endeavour to ensure that cost and benefits are weighed against timely decision-making, in support of delivering on our Mission and Vision.

    Just as we believe that our clients can grow and develop from where they are now to where they deserve to be we also believe that we must grow and develop to keep pace with their developing needs and aspirations.

  • We are committed to bringing our best in all that we do and are – governance, leadership, care, and support. This also means growing in partnership with others. This means a continuous investment in learning and development. This means seeking out and implementing best practices. This means creating and sustaining open lines of communication.

    Ensuring success for Rowan House Society requires open and timely communication, making each other aware of changing circumstances and factors, and being clear on deliverables. Both as a team and as individuals, there is an understanding and appreciation of the impact of poor performance on the achievement of the Mission and Vision.

Trauma-Informed Values:

What is Trauma? 

According to SAMHSA, "Individual trauma results from an event, series of events, or set of circumstances that is experienced by an individual as physically or emotionally harmful or life threatening and that has lasting adverse effects on the individual's functioning and mental, physical, social, emotional, or spiritual well-being”.

What is Trauma Informed Care?

Trauma Informed Care embraces a perspective that highlights adaptation over symptoms, and resilience over pathology.  It integrates the need for safety, choice and control at every level of service delivery and interaction. ( Poole and Greaves, 2012)

At Rowan House Society we support others through the lens of not only discussing "What Happened to You?”, but understanding "What Happened Inside of You?”.

“Being able to feel safe with other people is probably the single most important aspect of mental health; safe connections are fundamental to meaningful and satisfying lives.”  Bessel Van Der Kolk


I will always hold gratitude for the influence you brought in how I feel about myself now, and how I will continue to grow in the right direction with what I’ve learned.
— Rowan House Client