Airdrie Mayor calls for 24-hour shelter during successful POWER Gala

On Saturday, April 23, Airdrie P.O.W.E.R (Protecting Our Women with Emergency Resources) held their Spring Gala and it was like a night back in the 1920s. 

With the Gala being a “Roaring 20s” theme, many participants dressed up with what it used to be like back in the old days. 

Dana Gable, the Operations Manager at Airdrie P.O.W.E.R talked about how the night went. 

“We thought it went well, we were really pleased with the whole weekend and the turnout and how the event came together. Everyone seemed to have a great time, I know we had a great time. We made a lot of great connections.” 

Photo's provided by Dana Gable.

The money raised from the event is going to support their Women's Day Shelter. It goes directly into helping them help women. 

Gable went on to talk about the different attractions they had at the Gala. 

“I know the ice sculpture seemed to be a really big hit, the Martini luge, People were really excited about that. The casino tables were a lot of fun, we had a lot of people hanging out there all night. And one of my personal favourites was the brass band during cocktail hour.” 

Photo's provided by Dana Gable.

Gable says they are still deciding if and when the next Gala should be. 

“At our next board meeting, we will talk about the pros and cons and see how this went versus a new year's gala. I think there's some pros and cons to both.” 

At the Gala, Airdrie Mayor Peter Brown gave a speech and asked Airdronians to help send letters to Airdrie’s local MLAs to help advocate for a 24-hour shelter. Gable and the Airdrie P.O.W.E.R crew were excited to hear Brown share his thoughts. 

“We were absolutely thrilled to hear him advocate for a 24-hour shelter. It's something that we've wanted for a long time, basically forever. And we're so glad to hear that he's on board with that and we hope the city can get behind that and make it a reality.” 

Gable went on to say the beds in Calgary are almost always full. And it's nice to be able to stay within your own community and offer support and help to those that are right next door. 

According to Mayor Brown, it’s time for Airdrie to be recognized as its own community, not a bedroom community to Calgary and for Airdrie to receive what the community needs. 

“We are our own substantive population that needs to be supported with the same types of programs and infrastructure that all of the other municipalities around us seem to have. We have to get there. The only way we're going to get there is people standing up and letting our MLAs know that we can't be overlooked anymore.” 

Brown finished off by saying the Gala was a great event.  

“The food was excellent, the people that were there were very friendly, very nice. They all have the same purpose and intent, which is to support the programs offered by Airdrie P.O.W.E.R and enhance what they're doing right now to support individuals and families.” 

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