CORE Association got its start on June 18, 1954, when a few parents and interested community members organized a council for disabled children for Medicine Hat and surrounding areas. As society evolved, it went through several name changes and eventually became Client’s Ongoing Rehabilitation and Equality (CORE) Association.

The organization built Georges P. Vanier School on 13th Street SE, which opened with fifteen students in December 1960. Twenty-one years later, CORE “sold” the school for one dollar to the Medicine Hat School District in 1981. Thirty years after that in 2011, the school district “sold” the property for one dollar to CORE. In October 2014, after completely renovating and re-designing the school, it re-opened as a modern ten-bed home for adults with developmental disabilities who have dementia and/or high medical or physical support needs. CORE owns six other properties accommodating between three and five tenants each.

CORE offers day programs, and residential, community, and outreach services for adults with developmental disabilities and their families. CORE employs about 190 full-time, part-time, and casual employees, plus seventeen home providers and respite home providers.

CORE Association is a charitable non-profit organization providing community living services for people with developmental disabilities and support services for them and their families. Although most funding comes from government sources, we also have great support from the community. This comes by way of fundraising through dedicated volunteers who help with bingos and casinos, CORE’s Stampede Parade BBQ, Midnight Madness bake sale, and private donations.  Donations can also come through legacy planning.