For over 50 years, Chrysalis has been ever evolving to meet the needs of the community we serve: adults with disabilities. In 2025, our programming roster includes day programs, community access, employment and a prolific arts studio.
The Community Access Program allows people to learn new skills and build the confidence that is the foundation for bigger goals and dreams. The Employment Program works with both jobseekers and potential employers to bring talent forward and make workplaces more accessible and diverse. Our Art Studio provides fresh canvases for beginners and empowers established artists to make and sell their artwork, all to create a space of exploration and expression.
The heart of Chrysalis is a human-centred model that views each person who accesses our services as a whole human being with interests, skills and goals for themselves. Individualized support, choice and self-determination guide all our programs.
Our roots reach back to 1968 with the opening of the Industrial Research and Training Centre (IRTC) in Edmonton, with a location added in Calgary in 1988. The IRTC was one of few agencies at that time for adults with disabilities, a manufacturing training program that created a transition out of school and an empowering alternative to being inactive at home.
Between 1968 and 1992, the disability rights movement in Canada drove many significant advancements and legal changes to establish equal rights, deinstitutionalization efforts and increased awareness of the systemic barriers people with disabilities face. The IRTC had met needs for the times, but the times were changing and so we evolved into Chrysalis: An Alberta Society for Citizens with Disabilities.
At Chrysalis, we are guided by a vision where people with disabilities are accepted by and included in society for their ability to contribute, and where these individuals have the same rights and privileges as all citizens.
We recently welcomed a new executive director, Melinda Noyes. With Melinda’s diverse experience at Autism Edmonton, Habitat for Humanity, and McMan Youth, Family and Community Services Association, we look forward to the growth and strategic direction she will bring to Chrysalis.
“Chrysalis has so many possibilities for growth and change,” says Melinda. “My job as a new leader for this organization is to tap into the brilliance that staff, individual participants and the community has to offer. Great things can happen if you listen to those around you and provide them with the tools to realize their vision.”
Community
Access
Our Community Access Program is what life is all about. It supports goals such as education, fitness and building confidence, and it makes room for all kinds of joy including going out for activities, staying in for clubs directed by staff and by people accessing services, and creating community.
Social and community participation are important human needs. Building new relationships with people at Chrysalis and with the wider community on outings empowers people who access our services to build self-confidence and to find interests and passions that light them up.
This past summer, people accessing Chrysalis have volunteered at the Veterans’ Association Food Bank, Father Lacombe Care Society and Root for Trees. Their care, attention and dedication have positive impacts on our community every day.
“Diversity is what makes life rich and interesting,” says Melinda. “People contribute to community building in many different ways, and we sometimes need to just shift our perspective a little bit to see and appreciate what people bring.”
The Community Access Program also provides opportunities to build important skills like food and cooking safety, financial literacy and self-advocacy. We also provide specific services including learning to use AAC (augmentative and alternative communication devices, sign language, speech-generating devices and apps) and occupational therapy.
Employment
In our Edmonton Employment Program, we support both jobseekers and employers.
For jobseekers, we offer one-on-one job coaching that includes building a resume and cover letter; interview support for before, during and after the process; career path development; and mentorship, job shadowing and work experience opportunities.
With such an established history, Chrysalis has not only empowered people just starting on their career journeys, but also people who have had long careers. One of our longtime people accessing services was employed at Fortis for 30 years and retired from that position; she was a member of Chrysalis throughout her career and still is in her retirement.
For employers, we offer support in job carving (customizing job duties, such as combining tasks to capitalize on skills and talents of workers with disabilities), awareness training for your team, regular check-ins with supervisors, transition planning to support successful, independent employment and additional support as needed. We want to work with you to support your organization’s goals!
Many jobseekers at Chrysalis have also completed our Personal Development Class. This six-week course empowers individuals with the essential skills to thrive in their new employment roles in a safe, nurturing environment that allows them to unleash growth and self-confidence. This class supports skills in teamwork, effective communication, problem-solving, time management, relationships and boundaries, and healthy ways to regulate and deal with emotions.
The Chrysalis contract area, known as the Buzz Hub, has completed 12 projects of assembly and packaging for corporate partners. People who work in the Buzz Hub are paid, so organizations that hire us are using their contract dollars to build inclusivity into their business practices.
From January to June 2025, Chrysalis’ Employment Programs served 335 participants in 123 job-seeker drop-in sessions, and 1,783 participants in 236 workshops and events such as Mindful Mondays, Mental Health Focus Group, Computer Literacy and Mock Interviews.
Art
Studio
and
Creative
Arts
Program
“For many of the people who come here, the art is their only way to communicate how they feel… The authenticity and the expression of the work we see here is really something that I have never experienced before,” says Dana, art specialist at Chrysalis.
This program provides opportunities for participants to explore their creativity and individuality, and to develop a variety of skills through the arts. Through partnerships with local artists across multiple mediums, we ensure individuals are receiving a solid foundation of arts-based programming.
With locations in both Edmonton and Calgary, the art studio uses a creative process to facilitate self-exploration, reflection and understanding. It is through this process that individuals are able to communicate thoughts and feelings that might otherwise have been difficult to articulate. This program serves to remind us that art transcends disability, age and experience, and that the possibilities are endless.
The Creative Arts Program encourages community involvement through annual art shows, online auctions, the Chrysalis art calendar, and various art displays throughout Edmonton and Calgary. Because of this exposure, many of the talented artists are being sought after to create commissioned artwork for their supporters. The pieces produced in this program are available for purchase, with 50 per cent of profits going to the artist. The other 50 per cent is dedicated to replenishing art supplies.
Our art program is process-focused rather than outcome-focused. Process-focused art is where a person is given an open-ended project and they have the opportunity to express themselves through their artwork. There’s no step-by-step instructions to be followed, there’s no right or wrong way to explore and create. Art is focused on the experience and the technique, tools and materials.
Accessing
Disability
Support
Chrysalis can be accessed by people approved for Persons with Developmental Disabilities (PDD) Program with the Government of Alberta. Through PDD, organizations like Chrysalis provide personalized services that help individuals with developmental disabilities build life skills, find employment, participate in community and foster greater independence. This also eases caregiving responsibilities and helps family members stay active in their own jobs and hobbies, creating a better community for everyone. Developmental disabilities will impact a person’s entire lifetime, and everyone deserves the support they need to build their own stability and flourish.
Per Government of Alberta open data, there were 12,640 cases with Persons with Developmental Disabilities (PDD) in 2021. Almost 45 per cent of those cases were in Edmonton and Calgary, emphasizing the need for programs and services like Chrysalis in these locations.
While PDD funding allows Chrysalis to meet the basic functions of community access and employment support, we have bigger dreams for our place in the community and ways we can empower adults with disabilities to reach their goals.
This summer, Chrysalis buried a time capsule to be opened 40 years from now. In it was a letter by Mikayla, who went through the Employment Program and now works as the receptionist at our Edmonton location. She wrote, “Chrysalis is a place where you can grow without judgement. It’s a place where you can laugh and just have fun. But it is also a place where you can learn and experience new things, and slowly grow your wings so you can fly on to your next future adventure.”
Chrysalis is a leader in the development and delivery of innovative, high quality and human-centred services and supports for Albertans with disabilities. We have come so far in the past 57 years and we can do so much more with the support of our community! Join us in creating change, growth and opportunity for everyone in our community.
