Nine months after discovering it would need to find a new home, BeTheChangeYYC has found a new location for its headquarters.

The street-level outreach group said on Wednesday it has secured a new space at 840 7th Ave. S.W. along the CTrain line in downtown Calgary.

The group, which launched in 2015, distributes emergency essential resources like water, food and clothing, as well as hygienic, medical and harm reduction supplies to people experiencing homelessness. BeTheChangeYYC also refers people to social programs and facilitates access to emergency shelters.

The organization’s CEO Chaz Smith said BeTheChangeYYC’s new home allows the group to continue reaching people who need its support within its existing service area downtown, without disruption.

“Many folks are hungry and thirsty, and we have to meet people where they’re at in order to provide those program referrals to housing, detox and mental health services,” said Smith.

A move-in date for the group’s new home has not been set, because some renovation is still needed.

Group will now have to pay thousands in rent

The main difference for BeTheChangeYYC will be in its monthly rent. The group, which has an annual budget of around $140,000, will go from seeing the city subsidize its rent to needing to pay around $25,000 annually for its new home.

Smith said he’ll take the money needed for rent out of his salary, and that the group’s other services will not be cut.

The move comes at a difficult time in the social services non-profit sector, Smith said, with inflated costs making it more difficult to purchase the same level of supplies they need to distribute. He said the organization is still pursuing funding through programs at all levels of government, while increasing its focus on grassroots fundraising and relying on community support.

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The Calgary Drop-In Centre is exploring whether to shift some services away from its East Village location. The organization’s president says it is facing pressure to leave the downtown area entirely.

Smith noted the team is facing even more pressure and need for its work.

Calgary’s homeless population grew to 3,314 people last year, up from 3,121 the year before, according to the Calgary Homeless Foundation’s point-in-time count for 2025.

Smith also said his outreach teams have responded to more overdoses in recent months, on a level the group has never seen before.

BeTheChangeYYC teams distribute naloxone kits and some harm reduction supplies to cut down on shared needles and pipes, but that supply has dipped since provincial government cuts last year, said Smith.

“This is a growing crisis,” he said.

City still evaluating future of Block 40 buildings

BeTheChangeYYC previously rented space from the city, in a group of buildings known as Block 40 across from City Hall. After having a temporary, year-to-year lease with the city, Smith’s group received notice last year it would need to find a new home by the end of December.

“The buildings are at an age and condition when they need extensive renovations and lifecycle replacement of building systems. Continuing to use the building without significant repairs and renovation has safety risks,” the City of Calgary said in a statement on Wednesday.

Since then, Smith said the city has granted an extension for BeTheChangeYYC to continue to work out of the same Block 40 building while searching for a new home.

Other outreach organizations like SORCe Calgary and the Aboriginal Friendship Centre of Calgary also operated out of the Block 40 buildings, which used to house the W.R. Castell Central Library and a Calgary Police Service administration building.

In its statement, the city said it is “actively evaluating options for the future of the buildings.”