Privacy Policy

Journey of Hope Inc. ("Journey of Hope," "we," "us," or "our") is a care organization based in Airdrie, Alberta, Canada. We provide compassionate services to youth, seniors, and families, including youth crisis shelter and stabilization, senior care, companionship, post-surgery and transitional care, and respite care for children and youth.

This Privacy Policy applies to personal information collected through:

• Our website at journeyofhope.ca
• Our online Intake Request Form
• Our Contact Form
• Phone and email inquiries directed to our office
• In-person interactions in the course of service delivery

It does not apply to the practices of third-party websites that may be linked from our website. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any external sites you visit.

We only collect personal information that is reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this Policy. The type of information collected depends on how you interact with us.

3.1 — Information Collected Through the Intake Form

Our Intake Request Form is designed to help us understand your care needs so we can respond appropriately. Through this form, we may collect:

• Full Name (first and last name)
• Date of Birth
• Phone Number
• Email Address
• Home Address (optional)
• Service of Interest (e.g., Youth Crisis Shelter, Senior Care, Respite Care)
• Reason for Inquiry — a description of your current situation and immediate needs
• Urgency Level (e.g., Immediate, Urgent, Planning Ahead)
• Specific Health or Mobility Needs (optional) — such as medication reminders, mobility aids, or dietary restrictions
• Primary Caregiver Information (optional) — name and contact information of the person completing the form on behalf of someone else

Submission of the intake form requires your explicit consent (via the consent checkbox). Without consent, the form cannot be submitted.

3.2 — Information Collected Through the Contact Form

If you contact us through our website contact form, we may collect your name, email address, phone number (if provided), and the content of your message.

3.3 — Information Collected Automatically

When you visit our website, our web server may automatically record standard technical information such as your IP address, browser type, pages visited, and the date and time of your visit. This information is used solely for website security, performance monitoring, and to understand general traffic patterns. It is not linked to any identifiable individual.

We do not use cookies for tracking, advertising, or analytics purposes beyond the technical operation of our website.

3.4 — Sensitive Information

Some information you voluntarily provide — such as health needs, the nature of a crisis situation, or the age of a person requiring care — may be considered sensitive personal information. We treat all such information with the highest level of care and confidentiality. We only collect it because it is directly necessary to understand and provide the appropriate level of care.

We use your personal information only for the purposes for which it was collected, specifically:

• To evaluate your care request and determine which services are appropriate
• To contact you (or the caregiver who submitted on your behalf) within 24–48 hours to discuss next steps
• To coordinate and deliver the care services you or your family member require
• To respond to general inquiries submitted via the contact form or by phone or email
• To maintain records necessary for the safe and effective delivery of care services
• To comply with legal obligations applicable to our organization, including mandatory reporting obligations where required by Alberta law

We do not use your personal information for marketing, advertising, or any commercial purpose unrelated to your care.

Under PIPEDA and Alberta's PIPA, we are required to obtain your meaningful consent before or at the time of collecting personal information. We obtain consent in the following ways:

• Intake Form: A mandatory consent checkbox must be checked before submitting the form. By checking this box, you explicitly consent to Journey of Hope Inc. collecting your information for the sole purpose of evaluating and establishing care services.
• Contact Form & Phone/Email: By contacting us voluntarily, you provide implicit consent for us to use your contact information to respond to your inquiry.

You may withdraw your consent at any time by contacting us using the details at the end of this Policy. Withdrawal of consent may affect our ability to provide or continue to provide care services to you.

Journey of Hope Inc. does not sell, rent, or trade your personal information. We do not share your personal information with third parties for marketing purposes. We may share your information only in the following limited circumstances:

• With your consent: We will share your information with other service providers, health professionals, or agencies only if you have explicitly authorized us to do so.
• Service delivery partners: Where a third party is engaged to assist in delivering your care (e.g., a support worker employed or contracted by us), they receive only the information necessary to provide that care and are bound by confidentiality obligations.
• Legal requirements: We may disclose personal information if required by law, court order, or to comply with mandatory reporting obligations under Alberta legislation (for example, relating to child protection or vulnerable adult safety).
• Safety emergencies: If we reasonably believe that disclosure is necessary to prevent serious and imminent harm to an individual, we may share relevant information with appropriate emergency or government authorities.

We take reasonable and appropriate safeguards to protect your personal information from unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. Our safeguards include:

• Limiting access to personal information to authorized staff and contractors who need it to do their jobs
• Storing intake and contact form submissions in a secure, access-controlled environment
• Using encrypted communications (HTTPS) for all data submitted through our website
• Training staff on the importance of privacy and confidentiality, particularly when working with vulnerable individuals

No method of electronic transmission or storage is 100% secure. While we strive to use appropriate means to protect your information, we cannot guarantee absolute security. If you believe your information has been compromised, please contact us immediately.

We retain personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, or as required by applicable law. Specifically:

• Intake submissions that result in active services: Retained for the duration of the service relationship, plus any period required by law or professional obligation thereafter.
• Intake submissions where no services are established: Retained for a reasonable period (generally no longer than 12 months) and then securely deleted or de-identified.
• General contact form inquiries: Retained for a period sufficient to resolve your inquiry and no longer than 12 months unless a service relationship is established.

When personal information is no longer required, we destroy or de-identify it in a secure manner.

As an individual whose personal information we hold, you have the following rights under PIPEDA and Alberta's PIPA:

• Right to Access: You may request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
• Right to Correction: If you believe information we hold about you is inaccurate or incomplete, you may request that it be corrected.
• Right to Withdraw Consent: You may withdraw consent to the collection, use, or disclosure of your information at any time, subject to legal and contractual restrictions and reasonable notice.
• Right to Make a Complaint: If you have a concern about how we handle your personal information, you may file a complaint with us directly. If unresolved, you may escalate to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) or the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta (OIPC).

To exercise any of these rights, please contact our Privacy Officer using the information provided in Section 12.

Some of our services — including Youth Crisis Shelter and Respite Care for Children & Youth — are specifically designed to support minors. In these cases:

• Personal information about a minor is typically provided by a parent, legal guardian, or authorized caregiver, who represents that they have authority to provide such information and to consent on the child's behalf.
• We collect only the information necessary to provide safe and appropriate care.
• Information about minors is treated with heightened confidentiality and is only shared where strictly necessary for their safety or care, or as required by law (e.g., child protection reporting obligations in Alberta).

Our website may contain links to external resources or websites (for example, government agency pages or community support organizations). These third-party sites have their own privacy policies, which we have no control over. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of any linked third-party site and encourage you to review their policies before providing any personal information.

If you have questions, concerns, or requests related to your personal information, or if you wish to file a privacy complaint, please contact us:

We will acknowledge your request within 10 business days and aim to resolve all privacy concerns within 30 days, in keeping with our obligations under PIPEDA and Alberta's PIPA.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, services, or applicable law. When we make material changes, we will update the "Last Reviewed" date at the top of this page. We encourage you to review this Policy periodically. Continued use of our website or services after changes are posted constitutes your acceptance of the updated Policy.