While it has only been in service for a few months, the need for Colton’s Place is serving a need for the community.
On March 1, Colton’s Place, a family violence shelter, opened in the valley. They have a single unit that can house a single person with children for a short-term stay. It is a safe environment with security.
“It is a safe place to go right away, to get out of the situation they are in until they can get to affordable housing or a larger shelter in the city, or get them home to where their social supports are, wherever that may be,” said Crystal Chretien family violence intervention coordinator.
In the short time it has been open, there have been three clients use the suite for short-term stays. In that time, they have also served about 30 people, where they had to help them in other ways such as with a hotel stay or transportation.
“There have been times when it has been occupied, and we also had to shelter other people in need, so definitely there is a need,” said Chretien.
Colton’s Place is a pilot program and is supported by the Salvation Army, the Town of Drumheller, the Drumheller Housing Authority, the Rotary Club, Big Country Anti-Violence Associaton, and the RCMP. She says they hope to continue the program, and are working on grants for stable funding to complete the pilot.
“Our future goal is to possibly open a four-plex shelter, so we have more rooms available for women, children, and men,” said Chretien.
The office running Colton’s Place is on 24- hour call in case of emergency and works with the RCMP for referrals.
“If they are referred by the RCMP, we know they are really wanting to get out of the situation, they are going to the RCMP for help and then they call us,” said Chretien.
For more information call the Salvation Army at 403-823-2215, ext. 103.

Active cases of COVID-19 across the province are continuing to trend downward, with fewer than 5,000 active cases in Alberta as of Saturday, June 5.
The Town of Drumheller has reported zero new cases of COVID-19 since mid-May 2021, and enters the second week of zero active cases within the community.
“With the lab now screening all positive COVID-19 cases for these variants, case investigation teams will now be re-starting second calls for cases with variants of concern other than the B.1.1.7, or U.K. variant,” Alberta’s Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw said during the COVID update on Thursday, June 3.
She noted the B.1.1.7 variant is now the dominant strain found in Alberta, adding “We want to pay particular attention to the lower volume variants of concern.”
More than 3 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered, and 529,502 Albertans have been fully immunized with two doses as of Saturday, June 5.
Stage Two of Alberta’s Open for Summer plan is anticipated to start Thursday, June 10-two weeks after reaching the target of 60 per cent of eligible Albertans having received at least one vaccine dose, and hospitalizations dropping below 500 and declining.
In the Starland County-Drumheller region, 52.9 per cent of residents, or 6,267 people, have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine; 88 per cent of residents 75 and older (846 people), and 77.5 per cent of residents between 60 and 74 (1,856 people) have received at least one dose of the vaccine in the region.
As of Monday, June 7 there are zero active cases of COVID-19 for the Town of Drumheller. There are also zero active cases in Starland County, six in Kneehill County, and eight in Wheatland County.