Discovering New Possibilities

Severe depression and anxiety took me out of work and out of general participation with society. In the process of getting back into the swing of life, the Skills for Work Wellness program was suggested as an option for me. It helped bridge the chasm between where I was and where I hoped I could be.

The program was special because it did not feel punitive or adversarial. Instead, it was collaborative, inviting, accepting. I was nervous at first, though with the kindness and understanding of staff and my peers, we all learned so many skills.  The Gastown Vocational Services team and I work together on each step I've taken toward sustainable employment.

I really enjoyed that each day I learned something new about how I, individually, could take care of my experience of my environment, my path to employment, and eventually my place of employment. I really appreciated the melding of mental health skills with job search training, resume creation, and interview practice.

 The program helped me dip my toes back into a structured schedule while working with a group of people toward a common goal of healthy, sustainable employment. Because of the program's skills training, access to counselling, occupational therapy, and job development staff - I'm training to be a Healthcare Unit Clerk while continuing to build up my mental health muscles and emotional elasticity.

This whole process has helped me recover confidence about who I am and discover new possibilities for what I can do.

- Hugo

Workin’ On My Wellness

GVS provided me with a support network when I needed it most. Living with depression for 15+ years and going through a mental health crisis, I was referred to GVS by a health care provider. I didn’t know what to expect, what it was all about or who I would be interacting with.

I began with a group work readiness program led by a wonderful, supportive, engaging and thoughtful group facilitator. I had been unemployed for well over a year and keeping a routine, engaging with others and going to appointments was very difficult for me at this time. This 3 day/week program helped me to become committed to something, feel more productive and connect with others who could share in some of the ways I was feeling about returning to work and the struggles that come with this and living with chronic mental illness. My anxiety with group settings and speaking in front of others was okay to feel in this environment – it was acknowledged and also felt by others. I couldn’t believe it, but I was beginning to feel less alone and isolated.

The group program provided valuable resources that I still utilize and have incorporated into my daily living. Finally I was learning about why I had such difficulties keeping jobs while maintaining my wellness. Learning skills for wellness at work, creating daily maintenance checklists, building healthy routines, while assessing my values and skill sets with professionals who truly care has had such a positive impact on my life. 2 years ago I didn’t think I could make it through a day, let alone plan for a future that I cared about. After completing the group program, I continued with my Occupational Therapist and Job Developer to explore career opportunities in a safe way. Previous barriers of hopelessness, guilt, and anxiety around searching for jobs, creating resumes, interview preparedness and all that comes with work and a depressive outlook on life were supported and eased through the process. I still use many of the mindfulness and grounding techniques learned throughout my experience at GVS.

I am forever grateful for the knowledge, compassion, kindness and understanding I received from all the staff at GVS. I didn’t know something like this organization existed in the city, where finding resources can be very challenging. I hope others who could use this type of resource are able to find it and benefit from it. I recommend GVS and speak highly and openly about it to anyone in my life.

- Anonymous WorkBC Client

My Success Story

I started my journey in GVS with a broken canoe without a paddle. My life was a broken canoe filled with water and halfway sunk in the middle of an ocean; without a paddle with me, nothing to see as far as my vision can. I was at the end of my rope. The support and assistance of GVS professional staff, I was able to hang on at the end of my rope.

The skills for Wellness Program that I attended in the beginning of my journey, I was able to re-introduce myself to those skills that helped me deal appropriately with my siblings, co-workers and employer without further issue and helped me deal with my own self.

I then signed up for the Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT).

As a matter of fact, I attended the program session twice (How lucky I was). Honestly, It was not easy to develop the skills and interest to practice. All I know now, because of my exposure to MBCT, I became calmer. If I noticed that I am on a panic mood, and anxiety is building up., I would pick up the three-minute response skill that I have in my MBCT bucket. This skill helped me a lot in refocusing my anxious thought into a calmer and relax emotion,

In addition to the above-mentioned success that I am proud of, I also received a very professional support in resume preparation and interview skill, which I do admit I have not done such an impressive resume and a confident feeling during job interview without the skills and knowledge provided by GVS. And of course, there was the Nutrition and Exercise awareness portion as part of my journey with GVS.

As of current, I could say that my canoe is fixed and GVS family provided me with a paddle and GVS paddle with me side by side so I could start sailing to the direction that I intended to. It was slow but moving.

I would like to thank you GVS.

- Anonymous client, GVS WorkBC Program

My Experience with Gastown Vocational Services

When I first came to Gastown Vocational Services, I had been living with serious mental illness for almost an entire decade. I suffered from a bizarre form of psychotic depression and somatoform disorder, for lack of a better diagnosis, that involved strong cognitive deficits and sharp, stabbing pains which though almost never severe, could arise anywhere on my body at any time. I often felt the urge to perform odd, voluntary tics, and risked pain when I suppressed them for too long. The fear of my pain arising in the workplace, alongside with being put on the spot with instructions that my cognitive deficits would make difficult, led me to choose unemployment for most of that decade. As I was 18 when this illness first developed, and had not worked during high school, I found myself in a position where I was approaching my late twenties but had never worked a real job before aside from a brief stint as an English tutor before I became ill. I had no real work experience, no references, and I did not know how to write a resume.

My time at Gastown Vocational Services however, significantly changed my life situation for the better. While they could not do too much to improve my illness, in all fairness neither could my psychiatrist and psychologist – my case was simply too bizarre to make that happen. They did however, provide you with resources and teach you on how to cope in the workplace. Their eight-week long, biweekly workshop on job readiness and coping in the workplace focuses exactly on that. Apart from the usual steps of gaining employment that other vocational services go through with clients, here they specifically focus on employment issues within the context of mental illness – for instance, how to decide whether, and how much, to disclose about one’s mental illness. What a healthy relationship with anxiety looks like when preparing for interviews. For young adults who had little to no work experience before like myself, they had a separate, dedicated group to teaching how to complete each of the steps towards employment, from assisting the refinement (or in my case, creation) of a resume to a mock interview at the end.

They offered plenty of other services as well. I attended a two month-long one-on-one tutoring program to relearn how to use Microsoft Excel, Word, and PowerPoint, which I had largely forgotten how to use over the last decade. To help me build my references, they assisted in my successful application to volunteer as a Vancouver Aquarium Gallery Educator. They offered access to set up a Work Experience Placement, an unpaid, temporary position with an interested employer in the community that would otherwise be no different from a regular job for the sole purpose of acquiring work experience. For the actual search for a position, whether that’s a WEP (Work Experience Placement) or a regular paid job, they will assign you to one of their job developers who will conduct the search with you, asking for your input and consideration for each option they find and think may interest you. And as far as my own experience and what I have heard from other clients goes, they never pressure you to take any of the positions they find for you.

For myself, I opted for a Work Experience Placement and they arranged my WEP as a warehouse worker for The Latest Scoop, a local women’s fashion retailer. The work was easy to learn and the co-workers and manager patient and very friendly, which made it very suitable for my needs. At the end of the WEP, the company had the opportunity to keep me as a paid employee – and that’s the story of how I got my first job, for which I will always be grateful to Gastown Vocational Services for.

-Anonymous Youth & Young Adult Program client

Paying it Forward

Before I found Gastown Vocational, I was in a hard place in my life. I had just finished group therapy at VGH and was wondering what my next step was. One of the therapists recommended joining gastown vocational services. At the time, I was not taking it seriously. I filled out my application with no intention of submitting it. Thankfully, someone from there reached out, wondering if I was still interested. I am grateful that she followed up with me, because I can say for certain that it got me to where I was today.

Prior to GVS, I had little to no job experience. I could not write a cover letter or resume to save my life. I had no transferable skills, and no idea how to connect with potential employees. Because of all that, my confidence was low. I had no trust and belief in myself and my future. I was worried I would never achieve financially independent. I was also worried that I would never find a job, let alone keep it. I also was not doing things to work towards the future I wanted. Hopeless and uncertainty were feelings I battled constantly. However, it was soon things would change for the better.

As a client at GVS, I participated in various programs and sessions with my job developer. One that stuck with me and still resonates with me is the Skills for Wellness & Work program. Before the program, work was always an issue for me. I would let my anxiety get the best of me and quit before riding things out. I would barely last a month. Fast forward to now. I am a full-time receptionist at a salon in Kits. Before covid19 hit, I was there Monday to Friday, 8 hours a day, 40 hours a week. And I was the best at it.

GVS got me where I am today. From an amazing job developer who helped me realize things about myself that I have been denying (like holding a job) to programs that have taught me workplace communication and mindfulness, I have been blessed with such a great opportunity. GVS offers great resources for people who were once like me and for people who are like me today.

I am grateful for GVS and all they have done and all they do. To pay it forward, I plan to become a peer support worker to help others the way GVS helps and helped me. If anyone has the opportunity and ability to become a client of GVS, I highly recommend it. Your future can be found here today.

-Anonymous Youth & Young Adult Program client

My GVS Story

In 2017, I had an episode of psychosis. I was putting far too much pressure on myself at work and as a result was barely sleeping. This all culminated in a terrifying few days of manic behaviour and hallucinations, with me almost getting hospitalized. I was soon diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder - something that I’d always felt was going to catch up with me eventually (my dad has Bipolar too).

After the mania came the crippling depression and severe anxiety around going back to work. I attempted to resume my old job but I was just miserable. I’d often have to leave part-way through the day as the anxiety was just too much. Eventually I stopped going to work altogether - I used to pretend to my boyfriend that I was going to work and then go back home and spend the entire day sleeping or reading.

My workplace was understanding, helping me with claiming EI and attempting to claim on my health insurance, but it came to the point where they couldn’t really help me anymore and I had to leave the job. I continued spending my days doing nothing, with the idea of going back to work seemingly impossible.

Then I was referred to GVS. I must admit I was skeptical at first - in my mind nothing was going to get me back to work, but slowly I came around. The first step was attending the group sessions - these helped me to realize that I wasn’t the only one struggling with these kinds of issues. And the activities, like the practice interviews, helped me to remember the confidence that I once had.

After the group finished, I was paired up with a job developer. She helped me take my first baby steps back into the world of work, starting off with a volunteer placement at a thrift store followed by a part-time job in a store. That didn’t last long (covid!), but I was on my way. Over the next few months, my Job Developer supported me throughout the job application process, helping me to prepare my resume and get ready for interviews.

I have now been back in full-time work for 10 months. It’s not been easy (I still struggle with anxiety), but GVS has been supported me during that time, providing tools and resources to help me cope. Now, as it comes to the end of my time with GVS, I can honestly say that I wouldn’t be back at work without their help and I’m happier for it. Thanks so much, GVS, for all that you do!

- Anonymous client, GVS WorkBC Program