Who We Are

AACL Mission

To foster family leadership and advocacy in the pursuit of fully inclusive community lives for children and adults with developmental disabilities.

The Alberta Association for Community Living (AACL) is a family based, non-profit organization representing the interests of children and adults with developmental disabilities and their families from across Alberta. Together we share a family dream that began almost 50 years ago — a dream of meaningful family and community life for our sons and daughters. This dream lives on today and people with developmental disabilities and their families remain at the heart of AACL and our commitment to community inclusion.

More than 40 non-profit community organizations from across the province belong to AACL. We are a member of a national federation of over 400 community, 10 provincial and three territorial associations, together forming the Canadian Association for Community Living. CACL is also a member of Inclusion International, an international association representing over 110 countries and their national associations. Achieving the vision of inclusive community lives for children and adults with developmental disabilities is a global movement.

Who We Support

Children and adults with developmental disabilities have significant learning difficulties and often require assistance to succeed in life. Individuals with developmental disabilities may have Down Syndrome, Autism, Cerebral Palsy, multiple disabilities, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome or other conditions, which may result in a developmental disability.

What We Believe

We believe families are at the heart of community and children and adults with developmental disabilities should have the opportunity and support to:

• grow up in a family
• have a home in community
• be educated in inclusive classrooms
• develop friendships
• be valued members of their communities
• participate in, and contribute to, the life of their community (for adults this includes the opportunity for inclusive post-secondary education, meaningful employment and a decent income; for parents with developmental disabilities, this includes the support to stay together as a family; for children and adults this includes opportunities to pursue their interests and participate in a wide range of inclusive cultural and recreational activities)

An inclusive community is a welcoming community. We believe that everyone shares in the responsibility to create inclusive opportunities and communities.

How to Support Us

AACL is a registered charity and donations to AACL are tax deductible. Your donations will ensure continuing support to families and individuals across Alberta. For more information on how you can support the work of the Association, please call 1.800.252.7556 or email us at mail@aacl.org.

A portion of our funding comes from the sale of recyclable clothing, household items, sporting goods and furniture donated to AACL. Our Foundation staff call homes and businesses across Alberta to ask for donations of reusable goods. We pick-up these items free of charge.

Objects and Bylaws

Click here to see a list of our Objects and Bylaws.