Employment  Headlines:

http://www.engageability.ca/              December 9,

2010 Awards recognize support for mental health

On October 28th the  New View Society held their 2010 Vocational Recognition Awards in partnership with Fraser Health to appreciate community employers, volunteer hosts and individual members at Leigh Square in Port Coquitlam. This event highlighted the work of the employers and community partners in working with clients with mental health and in recovery in meeting their vocational and employment goals. Mayor Greg Moore from Port Coquitlam, and Councillors Bob Elliot from Port Moody and Barry Lynch from Coquitlam also participated in the event to help celebrate to successes that been made in the local community.

Several employers were recognized, including Hostelling International in Vancouver for providing part time employment and support for Housekeeping Agent who is a New View Society member. This employment opportunity has made a profound difference in the life this individual, and the employer, Hostelling International, has a dedicated employee that can get the job done.

Donna White, Provincial Director of the Terry Fox Foundation in Port Coquitlam shared how a volunteers from the New View Society had contributed to making their organization a success, especially leading up to the 30th Anniversary of the Terry Fox Run.

Employment and volunteer experience plays a key role in helping clients gain independence and reintegrate back in society, as part of recovery from mental health issues.

Prior to the Awards, a traditional First Nations Button Blanket workshop was organized by New View Society, and led by First Nations artist Dawn Brown, to recognize sustainable mental wellness though art. People in the community joined the New View Society members and Connolly & Cypress Lodge residents in sewing on buttons to complete the blanket. The finished blanket was presented to by Brown as a gift to the New View Society members at the event.

If you are looking to hire or need more information contact  New View Society (604-941-3222) or Tri-Cities Mental Health Centre [Fraser Health] (604-777-8400).

From left to right: Vicki Robertson, Volunteer Coordinator for the Hawthorne Care Society Port Coquitlam; Doug Fynn, Salvation Army Kettle Campaign New Westminster and Tri –Cities; Jennifer MacPherson, Salvation Army Kettle Campaign New Westminster and Tri –Cities; Colleen Mernickle, Biggar Bottle Depot, Port Coquitlam; Elanna Warmerdam, Burquitlam Lions Care Centre, Coquitlam; Glenda Stride, Petland Port Coquitlam; Chris Gibson, Adult Special Education Programs, Douglas College, Coquitlam and New Westminster; Martine Campbell, British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (BCSPCA) Port Coquitlam; Jenn Sears, BCSPCA Port Coquitlam; Donna White, The Terry Fox Foundation, Port Coquitlam; Jon-Paul Walden, The Evergreen Cultural Centre; Marcel Meunier, Hostelling International, Vancouver Downtown; and Stephanie Escaravage, Micheals the Craft Store, Port Coquitlam

December 3, 2010  

New View Employment Services Update 

New View Society Employment services, in partnership with the Fraser Health Authority Cottonwood, Connelly and Cypress Lodges hosted a very successful community employer and volunteer host recognition event on October 28, 2010. 

 The 2010 Vocational Recognition and Awards evening provided an opportunity to thank and appreciate local employers and volunteer hosts for their part in helping people living with mental illness work in and contribute to the community. 

A total of 6 area employers and 10 area volunteer hosts attended and were presented with plaques of excellence. Guest speakers included Judith Macrae Fraser Health Authority Tertiary Lodge Manager and Ted Kuntz New View Board Co-Chair and local therapist. Local dignitaries including Port Coquitlam Mayor Greg Moore, Coquitlam councillor Barry Lynch and Port Moody councillor Bob Elliot were also in attendance to share their thoughts and take part in the celebration.  

Certificates of achievement and success were provided to several Lodge and New View members also in attendance. The event, due to cuts in funding and limited location options has been absent for a couple of years but now the tradition continues with employers, community hosts, NVS and lodge members being recognized for their contributions and achievements in vocational excellence by the New View Society employment program. 

Employment counsellors make it easy to hire people with mental health challenges

By Matthew Danchuck

Tri-Cities 10 by 10 challenge

Looking for work and having a job interview can make most people anxious, but it can be especially difficult for people who have experienced a mental illness. In our society, having a job is equated with having an identity and unemployment is a significant barrier for those who are struggling to fit in and return their lives to a feeling of normal.

“Work gives people self-esteem, a sense of structure and a meaningful purpose,” according to Angela Williams, a vocational counsellor with Fraser Health’s Tri-Cities Mental Health Centre.

Donna Bonertz, an employment specialist with the New View Society agrees, “Work gives confidence and self-worth, you can see it enhance someone and they lose the neediness and dependence that can cripple someone for a lifetime.”

As part of the recovery and rehabilitation process for people affected by mental health issues in the Tri-Cities, the Tri-Cities Mental Health Centre and New View Society offer employment programs for people who are ready to return to the workforce. Both organizations offer individual employment counseling and employment skills training, along with a number of other supportive services, and they occasionally work together to help individual clients.

Local businesses can also benefit from these programs, as the counsellors and employment specialists provide pre-screened job candidates who are ready to work. Both organizations focus on finding a good employee-employer fit, and can provide job coaching and on-going support for both parties. Job co

Local businesses can also benefit from these programs, as the counsellors and employment specialists provide pre-screened job candidates who are ready to work. Both organizations focus on finding a good employee-employer fit, and can provide job coaching and on-going support for both parties. Job coaching also helps the new employee build relationships with the other employees, enabling them to overcome uncertainties and fears about integrating into the workplace.

Employers are pleasantly surprised to learn that people with disabilities have higher levels of retention, which reduces turnover and human resource costs. Once a person is comfortable in a steady work environment, they are less likely to leave, as finding work can be a daunting challenge when compounded by a disability.

These employment services are needed according to Williams, because “we actually have a large population of people with mental illness.” The Canadian Mental Health Association states that 20 per cent of Canadians will experience a mental illness in their lifetime. Putting these statistics into perspective, Bonertz explains, “There are hundreds of thousands of people who work in competitive jobs everyday that no one is aware of their challenges, but when it becomes chronic and persistent, the barriers stack up.”

Companies can support all their employees, whether they have disclosed a mental illness or not, by creating a supportive working environment. Typical accommodations often include shorter shifts, job sharing, and flexible break times, which can benefit people suffering from stress or feeling the side effects of medication. Open communication and a healthy workplace culture not only benefits employees, but the employer also by increasing productivity and retention and reducing absenteeism. Employers can work with either organization to address mental health issues, get advice on accommodation issues, setting boundaries and counseling resources.

If you are looking to hire or need more information contact New View Society (604-941-3222) or Tri-Cities Mental Health Centre (604-777-8400). The Tri-Cities Chamber of Commerce also has additional material on the business case for hiring people with disabilities on www.engageability.ca

 

Exciting news for the New View Society Employment Program!!

We will be linking with   Leigh Square Arts Village at the BC Cultural Day Event September 25th to participate in a community awareness raising event. A traditional First Nations Button Blanket will be on site and community members are invited to sew a button on the garment and learn a little more about the NVS employment program. A local artist Dawn Brown, the creator of the blanket, will be on site to provide some information on the cultural history behind the Button Blanket ceremony. So if you are out and about on Saturday Oct 25, 2010 join us between 2 - 4 pm at the Outlet in Leigh Square Arts Village in downtown Port Coquitlam.

 

 As well as inviting members of the community to join with us in sewing on buttons we are also expecting members of New View Society as well as Cottonwood, Connolly & Cypress Lodge residents to join us at the workshop.

This is a precursor event to the 2010 New View Society Vocational Recognition Awards which will be held in late October 2010 to appreciate community employers, volunteer hosts and individual members. New View is pleased to have the return of these vocational recognition events and hopes to have many more in the future.   View Picture Gallery