Teens at Work: Reflections
In January 2009, CanAssist started a small project called the "Supported Teen Employment Pilot Project," which is aimed at helping teens with disabilities find and retain part-time jobs.
Tara Kelk, CanAssist’s Supported Employment Coordinator, works with a group of teens and their families, as well as business owners and managers, to find each youth a part-time job. Tara then acts as a job coach while each teen develops new skills and becomes more comfortable in his or her job. (Read more about the impetus for this program…)
CanAssist greatly appreciates the Vancouver Foundation for its generous support of this program.
In this blog, Tara provides updates on the teens taking part in this exciting pilot project.
Steve starts blogging
Mar. 11, 2010
Note from Tara: Steve, who has a part-time job at Pacific Institute for Sport Excellence, will be writing articles for this blog periodically as he prepares himself for a future in journalism. Check out his article below to learn about his passion for a Great Canadian Hockey Team: The Canucks!
Me and my Vancouver Canucks
Steve, right, wears the gear he received from PISE as a one-year anniversary gift. Seen here with a friend.
By Steve Fowles
For as long as I can remember I’ve been a Canucks fan. Throughout the good and the bad. For it isn’t memorabilia that makes a true fan, it’s the heart. I can remember as a grad present, one of my aids in high school wrote to the Canucks organization trying to get me tickets to a game. Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to. Instead I got a letter from the team and other cool stuff.
I’m a fan because even if they're the worst team in the league, I remain optimistic. I’m confident that they’ll win the Stanley Cup, eventually. It’s only a matter of time. Plus they have Roberto Luongo for another 11 seasons, after this one’s over. So if someone does the math, they’ll see that the odds are in our favour.
Trevor LindenTrevor Linden is my favorite player not only because of the things he did on the ice, but because of his charity work off the ice. In his career he played in 1,382 games, had 375 goals, 867 points, two memorial cups and, in 1994, he led the Canucks to the Stanley Cup finals, all of this while wearing number 16. It’s quite remarkable what this guy has accomplished in his career.
The last time I went to a game was the best one I’ve ever been to, not only because they won, but because we were V.I.P’s. My two brothers and I were treated like royalty. When my team wins the Stanley Cup, I’ll be on top of the world.
Welcome Alex!
Feb. 24, 2010
Alexander Scheer is a sixteen-year-old young man with an energetic, outgoing personality and an openness to new experiences.
Alex has made a great start at the Pharmasave on Oak Bay Avenue.Alexander, also known as Alex, is our newest project participant.
Alex and I began working together early in December, and he worked hard to type up his resume and cover letter. He showed exceptional motivation in his desire to drop off resumes to community businesses, and he impressed me with his polite and friendly introductions and conversations with owners and managers. He didn't seem nervous at all as we went from store to store - a feat that most adults find difficult.
Right before Christmas break, Alex got a break of his own ... a job at Pharmasave on Oak Bay Avenue! Tony Tucker, the owner of the Oak Bay Pharmasave, was impressed by Alex's confidence and friendliness. He offered him a job, which was to start in January.
As a result of a two-week vacation in Hawaii, Alex began his first job in early February. The job requires a little bit of dirty work and some good people skills, as Alex gets to know all the staff and regular customers - and even a puppy or two (Pharmasave allows dog owners to bring in their puppies while they shop!).
Pharmasave's friendly staff and customers make it the perfect location for a first job. As Alex said on his second shift, "They are like a big family," to which Tony responded, "And now you're a part of it!"
Alex and I are very excited for him to become comfortable with the job and, eventually, take on new duties at the store.
Great job, Alex, on finding your first job, and thanks to everyone at Pharmasave on Oak Bay Avenue for being so welcoming and friendly.
Pictures of Alex working soon to come...
Steve takes stock of his first year on the job
Jan. 25, 2010
Steve has worked at the Pacific Institute for Sports Excellence since February 2009. He is really enjoying his work there, and his future goal is to extend his part-time work to almost full-time hours. Steve is hoping to study journalism at a college or university. To learn about Steve, check out the piece he wrote below and take a look at his blog at http://stevefowles.blogspot.com/.
Working at Pacific Institute for Sport Excellence
By Steve Fowles
Steve on the job at PISE.Before I started working at Pacific Institute for Sport Excellence (PISE), I was a 20-year-old guy. Fresh out of high school, I was eager to get into the working world. One problem: I had never worked a day in my life, apart from volunteering. Then I met Tara, who coordinates the Supported Employment Project at CanAssist. She was committed to supporting me in finding a job. At this time, I was up for anything. About a week later, I had an appointment with Tara at my house; she told me she had a job interview set up for me. Throughout the next few weeks, leading up to my PISE debut, I was nervous but excited. I couldn’t believe this girl got me this job; all I had to do was go to meet with Andrea, the boss at PISE.
The day had finally arrived: I was officially going to get a job. The next step was getting out there to the Camosun College Interurban campus. That’s when Tara suggested we take the bus. This was all new to me, but Tara pushed me to do it. I was hesitant at first, but after a few weeks into it, my confidence was back on track. It wasn’t long after that that I started going everywhere on the bus.
Steve takes a well-deserved break.
I always get the best feeling of acceptance every time I go into work at PISE; sometimes I can’t believe it’s my first job. There’s no doubt everyone at PISE is really cool; I think I’ve made some genuine friends there. There’s always someone there to help me, if I need anything. The storage rooms are always a mess, so there’s always a lot for me to do. In the beginning of the summer they had wheelchair basketball in the gym, so Sean, Jimmy and I worked hard getting the marks the wheelchairs made off the gym floor.
Since I’ve been an employee at PISE, I’ve gained a lot of independence. I get a feeling of great satisfaction every week after my shift is up.
Every Thursday morning I wake up anticipating my shift at PISE because I know I’ll be working that day. I regularly work in the storage rooms - no matter how much I clean it the week before, it always finds a way to get messy again. I’ve made a lot of great friends at PISE. There’s this one guy in particular, Sean, and he was one of the guys who helped me clean the gym floor.
Tara is a great asset to have as a job coach and, on a more personal level, a friend. I’m very thankful to CanAssist for giving me this opportunity. It just goes to show that if you keep a positive attitude, good things will happen.
Happy 2010!
Roman and his job coach, Brian, hard at work at Recreation Oak Bay.
Jan. 7, 2010
There is lots of excitement these days as we try to schedule check-in meetings with each participating young adult and his or her family. During our meetings, we will be looking at how the current jobs are going and which skills are being learned, as well as discussing new opportunities and making goals to gain even more skills!
One of our participants had some great news during his first week back at work. Roman, who works at Recreation Oak Bay, got his first raise! This is wonderful news, of course, not only because more money is always good news, but also because the raise reflects the great job Roman has been doing in the Recreation Oak Bay Offices. Way to go, Roman!
We are all looking forward to what this New Year will bring, and I have no doubt that all of us (including me, I hope!) will develop new skills and confidence in areas we never imagined.
View the 2009 archives of Tara's blog.
