Supported Employment is a “golden ticket” for those struggling with mental-health challenges and addictions – and, as an added bonus, it’s therapeutic for both employers and employees, say program participants.
“We’re all survivors with shared experiences,” says Matthew Neill, director of food services at Toronto’s Working For Change, a Toronto-based grassroots social justice organization. “We get what it’s like on that recovery journey and navigating mental-health challenges. Working together is a breeze because we understand each other.”
From the boardroom to the front lines, the Canadian Association of Supported Employment works with employment service providers, employers, community allies and stakeholders to bring into the workplace survivors who’ve faced significant challenges – whether escaping wars, overcoming sexual trauma, navigating the prison system or recovering from mental illness or addiction – and are now ready to be employed. The Supported Employment model — evidence-based and proven — helps people get meaningful jobs and offers tailored support to help them retain their employment – and employers are totally on board with it.
In the midst of the everyday buzz at one of three Out of This World Café, this one in downtown Toronto’s Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), cashier Zully Samji and other staff members effortlessly handle the multiple tasks they’re facing. The café operates under the Supported Employment initiative championed by Working For Change, employing people who are either in recovery or have overcome traumatic experiences.
Samji says that Supported Employment has sparked profound shifts in his work ethic and mental well-being. He says he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and was wrestling with addiction and psoriatic arthritis that compounded his mental-health problems.
“For a good chunk of my life, I was in a perpetual loop of struggling through work. I wasn’t feeling well when I wasn’t working, and I wasn’t working because I wasn’t well – for at least 10 years. But now, I’m cruising down the wellness lane. Working here increases my mood and my motivation to do things.”
Armed with his life experiences, Samji takes pride in helping train four staff members at the café. “We all have something. Our managers and directors understand it very well; they support us through our struggling phases. If some staff have to be let go, there are many ways they try to help them, and there are many steps that they take.”
Samji follows the same approach when it comes to his café clients, who are mental health patients at CAMH. He opts for the soft-glove approach, smoothly letting their quirks slide by.
“For a good chunk of my life, I was in a perpetual loop of struggling through work.”
The regular customers at the café rave about the food and the service. Says Anna Chow, a manager at the CAMH executive office in the same building who often eats at the café: “These staff members are so genuine and always go the extra mile.”
Emma, a veteran staff member at the Out of This World Café on Stokes St., who asked that only her first name be used, attributes the success of her work as kitchen coordinator to the support of her employers. Emma, who spent 10 years as an inpatient at CAMH, says staff members feel supported and understood by their employers and co-workers. Taking time off for recovery doesn’t mean losing your job. The managers and the director understand their staff and therefore bear with them during challenging times, say the staff.
“I am a trauma survivor, too,” says Anita Prasad, executive director of Working for Change. “When I was interviewed for my job, I shared with the board my specific traumas without delving into gory details. Similarly, each panel member would identify themselves as survivors and share their lived experiences while keeping the information of every participant confidential.”
Led by the late mental health activist Diana Capponi, Working for Change was formed in 1994 by community activists and survivors to create employment opportunities and advocate for psychiatric survivors. Since then, the movement has expanded; employment is now acknowledged as vital in the recovery process, says Prasad.
“Our Supported Employment model operates on a mixed revenue system, relying on both internal revenue generation and external support. Core funding is provided by the Ministry of Health, while training programs receive funding from the City of Toronto,” says Prasad.
Various Supported Employment models exist, not all of which adhere to the social enterprise model, says Prasad. Some organizations, such as charities, employ clients in charitable activities. It depends on the funding and the support the agency wants to provide to its staff. “But the primary objective of Working for Change is to maximize job opportunities, which constitutes our largest expenditure. We currently have around 60 staff members,” says Prasad.
Working for Change has multiple social enterprise locations with business licences in Toronto in food service and another one in horticulture and landscaping. While the food enterprises operate under Out of This World Cafés, horticulture is represented by Parkdale Green Thumb Enterprises.
Gurbeen Bhasin, a social worker who is founder and executive director of Aangen, a non-profit agency whose clients have been employed in fields including restaurants, office jobs and cleaning since 2000, says Supported Employment is a golden ticket to mental health. Bhasin says that’s because the program, currently engaging about 45 participants, is based on research that shows people with mental illness who hold competitive jobs for a sustained period have improved self-esteem and better symptom control as well as other benefits.
The mother of one client at Aangen says her son’s job in a kitchen has given him more than a paycheque; he now has a profound sense of value and pride. She says her son, who is in his mid-40s and challenged by schizophrenia, doesn’t feel that he’s just an employee; he feels loved by his co-workers.
Toronto-based Oasis Addiction Recovery Supports and Employment Services focuses on people in recovery from drug and alcohol addictions who have concurrent disabilities and are unemployed or under-employed. The society provides recovery support and employment programs including peer support, life skills development and relapse prevention.
“We’re all about creating a trust-filled and meaningful atmosphere every single day,” says Dimitris Grigorakis, the agency’s executive director.
“I had challenges with addiction, too,” says Grigorakis, who also overcame mental illness. “I understand what my clients would go through … and hence I care. My work with my clients gives me the strength to continue to work, personally and professionally.”
