Reaching a milestone always invites
a new question: what comes next?
In 2025, Silver Linings Foundation embraced transition, building on the achievement of establishing Alberta’s first live-in treatment centre for eating disorders and turning our focus toward the future of recovery.
Over the past decade, we have grown significantly in both reach and experience. We have seen first hand how broadly eating disorders affect individuals, families, and communities, and where systems of care continue to fall short. Through community needs assessments, partnerships, advocacy, and support for thousands of individuals, we have gained deep insight into the rigorous work of recovery and the hope required to sustain the effort.
Guided by these learnings, we have renewed our mission and vision to reflect the evolving recovery landscape and to shape our next chapter. We are proud to share this refreshed outlook.
To ignite hope and improve recovery outcomes across Alberta by evolving care, expanding access, and increasing understanding of eating disorders.
Our Mission
Albertans affected by eating disorders experience lasting hope and healing through access to exceptional, affordable treatment and community support at every stage of their journey.
Our Vision
These commitments are more than aspirational. Alongside our renewed mission and vision, we have introduced the Continuum of Recovery, a five-pillar framework that represents the key areas where community and recovery intersect, and where we can make our greatest impact. Together, these pillars put our mission into action.
Our Continuum of Recovery
Learn how each pillar drives impact,
and what we achieved this year.
PREVENTION & EARLY INTERVENTION
Shifting the Narrative
Raising awareness about eating disorders is key to reducing stigma and building community understanding. Greater public knowledge supports earlier intervention, helping people seek help sooner or support others more effectively. Continued, informed conversations also reduce shame and reinforce that recovery is possible and support is available.
In 2025…
We expanded our presence at community presentations and resource fairs across Calgary. In total, we connected with more than 500 people, and in many cases, we were able to speak with individuals one-on-one. We built and fostered relationships with dozens of organizations and institutions that helped amplify our message and reach more people.
We connected with
over 500
new community members
TREATMENT
Responding in Real Time
Accessing eating disorder treatment can be overwhelming, and our role is to help make that path clearer. As a trusted community partner, we bridge individuals to the care they need: providing referrals, informed recommendations, and ongoing guidance. This pillar ensures no one navigates the system alone and that people get the right care at the right time.
In 2025…
We launched our Recovery Navigation Clinic, a free program that provides individuals with one-on-one guidance to help map a path to recovery, informed by clinical insight and personalized recommendations. Following community-informed planning, the clinic launched in May one day per week, quickly serving over 100 clients. By September, we expanded to two days per week to meet growing demand.
We continued our partnership with EHN Sandstone at the Live-in Treatment Centre, providing clinical training for staff, offering consultation, and facilitating referrals for program placement. In addition, we connected individuals with public and private treatment options for acute cases and began developing aftercare pathways to support those transitioning from formal treatment back into daily life.
over 500
We connected with
new community members
RECOVERY COMMUNITY
Supporting Through Connection
The Recovery Community pillar is about helping people build a support system that assists them at every stage of the recovery journey. We believe connection is fundamental to recovery which is why our groups and workshops are centered around reducing isolation and fostering belonging during the recovery process. Our recovery community is about helping people build resilience, find hope, and reconnect with themselves and others.
In 2025…
We completed a major overhaul of our program offerings in the Fall of 2025. Over the summer, our entire Silver Linings team evaluated our existing lineup and reimagined how programs could be delivered to better align with community needs while improving accessibility, effectiveness, and engagement. We also made the decision to remove barriers, like cost and diagnosis requirements, to ensure more people can access meaningful support.
In September, we launched more than 36 revised sessions, and registration exceeded expectations. Within the first week, participation doubled compared to the same period last year and continued to grow throughout the season. Participant feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, confirming that these changes are meeting real needs and supporting recovery in meaningful ways. This is what some of our participants had to say:
45
Group
sessions
offered
of group participants said that
no cost made program more
accessible to them
81%
of participants said they felt less
alone after attending a group/workshop
77%
FLOURISHING
Thriving Beyond the Disorder
The broader goal of eating disorder recovery goes beyond disorder management, it's about helping people reclaim a full and meaningful life. This pillar seeks to engage individuals after they have achieved strong-recovery and moved into a place where identity, purpose, and joy can take root again. We believe long-term healing is sustained through connection, contribution, and a sense of belonging. The work within this pillar focuses on engaging people in the stages beyond recovery, as their capacity to give back continues to grow. Whether through mentoring, volunteering, or offering their own unique contributions, we support individuals not just in recovering, but in truly thriving.
In 2025…
Flourishing is a newer area of focus for us, but it’s a concept that has been present at SLF for many years. We define flourishing as living a fuller life beyond the disorder and after recovery. There is no better example of this than our Peer Mentor Program.
When people recover, they often discover a new capacity to support others. Every one of our mentors has walked the path of recovery themselves and understands the depth and complexity of eating disorders. Now in its fourth year, the program continues to thrive. There is something truly full-circle about individuals who once received support through Silver Linings programs returning as mentors to give that support to others.
While our mentees gain incredible value from this program, we are equally proud to offer an opportunity for people to stay engaged with the recovery community even after they no longer need direct support themselves.
This fall, expanded mentor opportunities with our brand new Lived-Experience workshops; sessions co-facilitated by peer mentors and clinicians. Participants deeply valued the real-world insights from mentors with lived recovery experience, and due to their popularity, these workshops will remain part of our regular programming.
39
Current mentors
45
Mentees matched in 2025
225
Support hours provided
CAPACITY BUILDING
Thriving Beyond the Disorder
To create lasting change, it is essential to equip others with the knowledge, skills, and resources needed to better understand and support those affected by eating disorders. Our capacity-building efforts focus on educating healthcare professionals, educators, employers, and community leaders about eating disorders and the critical role they can play in prevention, early intervention, and recovery. By expanding the network of informed individuals and organizations, we aim to create a more supportive, responsive environment for individuals with eating disorders in every sector of society.
In 2025…
Our organization has always had strong ties to the clinical side of the recovery community, championing research and elevating clinicians through our resources and advocacy work. What was missing was a centralized, accessible curriculum for eating disorder–informed care, particularly outside ED-specialized settings, where many practitioners feel under-informed and hesitant to support patients beyond referral. We recognized the need for a baseline curriculum that empowers any practitioner to understand their role in recovery and provide informed, supportive care.
In response, we developed Eating Disorder–Informed Care, an 11-hour online continuing education course featuring expert-led content. The course isn’t about becoming a specialist, it’s about understanding the fundamentals so clinicians can identify signs earlier, avoid unintentional harm, and better support clients who may be struggling.
This course was made possible through the Change Can’t Wait Grant through the City of Calgary, our partnership with the Lionheart Foundation, and the many contributors who helped shape the curriculum. Our goal is simple: to educate as many clinicians as possible and strengthen the care available to those affected by eating disorders.
We’re Looking Ahead
Our Commitment to Progress
As we move forward with these five critical areas of focus, we remain deeply committed to the individuals we serve and our on-the ground impact. Our work is only as good as the impact it creates and we think 2025 was an exceptional year for expanding access and removing barriers.
While eating disorder prevalence and risk continues to rise, we also believe that we can help create a world where they are better understood, deeply supported and that nobody has to recover alone.