View
1
Download
0
Category
Preview:
Citation preview
Experiences with
Housing and Mental
Good News
Pathways Clubhouse is a certified charter member
of the Clubhouse International
2017
July 2017
GOOD NEWS PAGE 2 GOOD NEWS PAGE 2
Directors’ Report
Our Summer Student, Brittany, who is a psychology undergrad-
uate student at UBC Okanagan, is with us until the end of Au-
gust. You can mostly find her working in the Upstairs Unit.
Among other projects, she is working on a video to mark our
move from our current space into our new building. Be sure to
introduce yourself to her.
Our Annual General Meeting was held on June 20. Thank you
to all who attended. As per this meeting, a special welcome to
Patti Martin who will be joining our Board of Directors.
Cathy Sha, our Special Projects Coordinator, will be leaving
Pathways to return to her home in China. Join us on July 28 to
thank her for all she has contributed to us and to wish her all the
best.
Emma Wang, our new Executive Assistant, and Hope Li, our
new Special Projects Coordinator will both be starting their po-
sitions in July.
As construction comes to an end at our new Clubhouse on Gran-
ville Avenue, we are planning our move! We anticipate the ac-
tual move will happen at the end of August. Stay tuned for ex-
act dates. In the meantime, we have been downsizing and sort-
ing through old paperwork.
We are still selling OMG’s Milk Chocolate Graham Clusters
and Peanut Butter Pretzel Clusters. They are now reduced to $1
per bag!
GOOD NEWS PAGE 3
Food Services Report
June was the month we welcomed our new summer menu and
our new kitchen staff member, Ann Cao! We liked Ann so
much that we stole her from her Executive Assistant position
with Dave MacDonald, so if you’ve been seeing Ann in the
kitchen a lot that’s why! Not only can Ann deal with that goofy
guy, Dave MacDonald, but she can cook too! Come try out
Ann’s foods!
The new menu has been going well. It shouldn’t be a surprise
to anyone that cheese burgers are the popular item, but a sur-
prise little treat is the chai chia seed pudding with mango and
coconut on top. This little creamy wonder has only a little ma-
ple syrup to sweeten it. Coconut milk makes it creamy and
dairy free, and the chia seeds themselves are packed with pro-
tein and nutrients! If there’s something you haven’t tried on the
new menu yet, don’t be shy, try it out!
Ann jumping for joy with her kitchen co-workers!
GOOD NEWS PAGE 4 GOOD NEWS PAGE 4
Brittany came. She’s seen. And she’s conquering.
In her own words: “I love working here. Everyone is so welcom-
ing and supportive of each other. I already feel like part of the
family. It’s so nice to work in a place where everyone treats each
other equally. You wouldn’t be able to tell a manager from a
member because everyone is treated with the same amount of re-
spect. I consider myself so lucky to have been given the oppor-
tunity to be a part of Pathways.” – Brittany.
This month’s Dinner & Discussion witnessed one of the highest
turnouts. This event is becoming increasingly popular. The topic
was “Assertive Communications.” And the dinner was Fish &
Chips. An even higher turnout is expected for next month’s Din-
ner & Discussion to be held on July 13th. The topic, “Dealing
with Difficult Customers,” is a popular one, but an even bigger
draw will be the dinner – Amy’s Spring Rolls & Chow Mein.
This year’s Public Speaking class came to an exciting close with
a new feature – A graduation ceremony! It was held in the dining
room at 11:30 am, just in time for the lunch crowd. Speakers
were, in order of presentation, Gregory, Jim, Melcia, and Karim.
At the end of the speeches they were presented with certificates.
If you missed it, you can check it out on YouTube or Facebook.
Good Luck to the following members beginning new TE sites:
Bruce, Blair, Michael, Matthew. Congratulations to these mem-
bers who completed stints at TE sites: Lorena, Karen, Jennifer.
Upstairs News Report
GOOD NEWS PAGE 5
Summer is the perfect time for socials! We are taking
advantage of the great weather with multiple socials in
Steveston for Fish and Chips and of course icecream!
Other crowd pleasing socials in June were Tye Dye T-
shirts and the ever popular YAP go-karting!
Look out for some exciting socials in July– including
YAP archery on the 10th and were taking you out to the
(Canadians) ball game on the 17th. And don’t forget
the Dave Bland memorial baseball game is July 14th
and Summer Fun Day July 19th!
Welcome to new YAP members: Michael, Howard,
Ray, Lucille, Ray and Alex
COS Unit Report
GOOD NEWS PAGE 6 GOOD NEWS PAGE 6
Tell us about the best place (house, condo etc.)
you’ve ever lived in and what made it a good place
to live? Are you still living there?
Townhouse, very clean, no can’t afford that place in
Richmond. -Wendel
Tell us about the worst place you’ve ever lived in and
what made it so bad?
On Seabright Road the land was awful and I got told to
get out. -Wendel
What are some barriers that people with mental ill-
ness face when trying to find housing? When you
were looking for housing, what kind of problems did
you encounter?
Some barriers that people with mental illness face are
the symptoms of their illness and their
medications. -Wendel
Describe your dream place to live. Which country,
what kind of house or apartment?
In Las Vegas, I’d have a house parties all year long.
-Wendel
Housing and Mental Health
GOOD NEWS PAGE 7
Housing and Mental Health
My landlord is a nice landlord. She doesn’t get upset
when I’m late with the rent cheque. She’s not pushy,
bossy or nosey. -Anonymous
*********************************************
International Self Care Day
Monday July 24th 2017
Join us at Pathways for a day of self care! 11:15 am: Group Fitness Mini Workout
(Enjoy moving to some music before your lunch)
1:30pm - 2:00pm: Meditation (Listen to soothing music and relax)
Learn more about global self care initiatives at :
http://isfglobal.org/international-self-care-day/
GOOD NEWS PAGE 8 GOOD NEWS PAGE 8
Pathways will be in the Salmon Festival on July 1st! It
will be sunny and fun!! Come join us to help celebrate
our wonderful country turning 150! -Barb
I am looking forward to joining Pathways in the parade
at the Salmon Festival. It is always a good time. We
give away tea bags to the people watching the parade.
Happy 150th Birthday Canada! -Theresa
I wonder how many staff and members remember
Canada’s 100th birthday celebrations in 1967. –Jim
Canada’s 150th Birthday
GOOD NEWS PAGE 9
GOOD NEWS PAGE 10 GOOD NEWS PAGE 10
Housing and Mental Health
I was newly married and barely out of my teens when I moved
from Victoria to Vancouver with my wife and newborn kid. The
housing situation at the time was
really tight and the fact that we had a little dog did not make it
any easier finding a place to rent. The first place we moved into
was a big mistake. It was a
basement suite and the problem was that whenever you flushed
the toilet it came up in the shower drain.
Complaints to the landlord went nowhere so we called the Health
Department which turned out to be a big
mistake. We stayed just 30 days at that place and on the day we
moved out the landlord put about two pounds of sugar in our car's
gas tank. We then moved to another slum apartment on Main
Street and 6th. We arrived home one day to find the owner of the
property had let himself into our apartment to use our phone. He
was still there! So we moved into a better suite at 186 West
17th. It went fine for the first year and now there was another
mouth to feed. All went well until we got
notice in our mail that our rent was going to go up by way more
than the legal limit set by the
Government. We made the mistake of contacting the Rentals-
man's Office and they contacted our
landlord. The next thing we knew was that there was banging on
our door as the landlord tried to climb through our front win-
dow. Both of them were
screaming at us. The landlord couple continued harassing us un-
til we moved out a month later, both of them having no regard for
Canadian laws. With me going to University full time, two kids
under the age of two and all the harassment, I almost had a men-
tal breakdown. Luckily my wife found us a place in the
University married residences although we did have to get rid of
the dog. While the university home was a nice break, it did not
last long and I graduated and moved out only to encounter more
Housing and Mental Health
PAGE 11
horrible landlords until we bought out own small bungalow.
As of now, I've been renting in the same apartment for the past
twelve years thanks to Pathway's rent
subsidy. My landlord is great. He fixes things when they need
fixing, gives me my privacy and keeps the rent increases low. He
too has helped with my recovery from schizophrenia. A great
guy!
Andy B.
***************************************************************
Please join us on
Wednesday, July 5th at 1:30 in the Dining Room
to find out what programs and services are offered at the
Richmond Short Term & Assessment Treat-
ment (RSTAT) program.
(This used to be called the Outpatients program at Rich-
mond Hospital.)
Come with your questions and curiosity!
GOOD NEWS
GOOD NEWS PAGE 12 GOOD NEWS PAGE 12
My Landlord
I’ve been living in the same co-op townhouse with my
family since I was about two years old. Now, I’m 25
years old and really hoping and wishing to move out
and live on my own. But it’s difficult looking for a
place when you have a mental illness. Phoning people
is one of my anxieties and not being able to earn money
makes it difficult. Currently it’s all really difficult, but
in the future I want a dream home that would be in Eng-
land or here in the lower mainland close to the water,
because I love swimming and it’s really beautiful here
and in England. I know the clubhouse can help me out
and make it easier for me to look for my own place.
-By Caitlin
=======================================
150 Canada’s Birthday
-Canada has a beautiful nature environment;
-Canadians are kind and polite;
-Canada is a peaceful country;
-The life in Canada is calm and ease;
-the weather in Vancouver is beautiful and I enjoy liv-
ing here. -By Anonymous
Housing and Canada 150
GOOD NEWS PAGE 13
GOOD NEWS PAGE 14
LANDLORDS The best place I love is where I am right now. It is
Alexandra Court through Pathways Clubhouse.
Everybody there helps everybody that needs it. I have
more friends now than I ever had. Me and my cat
Rippley are living happily ever after.
The worst landlord I had was in Whalley, Surrey. I had
wild animals in my attic. There was a crack smoker in
my room before me and they didn’t clean the room
before I moved in. The guy held back $100.00 back off
my damage deposit.
I think a barrier with landlords is if you tell them you
have a mental illness they might take advantage of you.
My dream place to live is where I am now. I will be
there hopefully for a long time. I really love it and the
people I live with.
By Steve Badman
LANDLORDS
PAGE 15 GOOD NEWS
This landlord; my recent one; is the best landlord I’ve
had.
I was new to the city and my apartment was new also.
My landlord was nice to help me. She helped the
people on the 1st floor. She also is the landlord to the
people on the 2nd and 3rd floors. Because of this
landlord I have learned a lot about the town
Richmond and in the area of the apartment I now live .
I’m thankful for her disposition towards the rent.
Every month when they come to collect the rent
they are nice and polite.
By Juliet Money
————————————————————
My Landlord
I love talking about my landlord because they are so
kind to me. When I went to church my mom did her
hair up high. It was Becky’s birthday yesterday. Dad
likes the children. My landlord reminds me of my
mom and dad. Al and Kathy are my parents. We cele-
brated a little child, Becky’s, birthday yesterday at
church.
Stanley Coleman
GOOD NEWS PAGE 16
Once in a Lifetime Celestial Event!
GOOD NEWS PAGE 17
How many of you are aware that on Monday, August
21st, 2017 at approximately 10:00am Vancouverites
will behold a once in a lifetime celestial event? A solar
eclipse will occur on that day, month, year and time.
Not a total solar eclipse (100%) but so close to it, at
90%, that our skies will become twilight again. To
view the total solar eclipse (100%) in the west you only
need travel to the state of Oregon. Here in southern
west BC we will be treated to a sun, during the apex of
the eclipse that will appear to be a thin crescent. How-
ever we must avoid looking at the sun without proper
sun-filters, and I do not mean sunglasses. Looking di-
rectly at the sun may cause injury to your eyes. Be
careful; but enjoy this haunting experience---the birds
and the animals around you will become, let us say,
slightly confused. They may become silent. At Path-
ways we will not be but thrilled! The sun will look
slightly more obscured than the picture below:
By Jim Y.
GOOD NEWS PAGE 18
Writing: A Coping Mechanism By Ryan Gallant
from Fitzroy Centre Clubhouse
More than a hobby, but unfortunately not a viable living
(yet), writing has been an equally frustrating and rewarding
avenue of self-expression for me since I first began
pursuing the career on a serious footing. This was shortly
after high school, roughly about the time that my worst self-
destructive symptoms of anxiety and depression made
themselves manifest, as I’m sure many reading this can
sympathize. It was a confusing and painful time for me, where
the self-conscious awkwardness of a Fat Guy ™ carried over
from my non-existent social life of high school to meet the cold,
hard realities of a looming, ominous adult world that I thought
would be even crueler than that accursed bastion of cliquey
conflict.
In the beginning, writing was merely a lifeline for my
loneliness, and just happened to be an outlet in which I was
naturally adept and found therapeutic as both a creative
and emotional release, in an arena where I was a veritable god
with a measure of control over everyone else’s fictional lives,
since I felt I had none in my own. Ever since, it’s been my rock,
my one constant in a continuum of change both necessary and
scary, and in part was responsible for keeping me relatively sane
during my darkest years about a decade ago. It seems like a
lifetime to sit and reflect on that time now, but I stand
here today because I had entertaining and intriguing worlds to
retreat into when despair encroached in force like those orcs in
the second Lord of the Rings movie. You know, the one with the
giant talking trees? Just what Middle Earth needed, huh? Can’t
just have wizards and elves, gotta have aggressive broccoli too…
Good lord… Wait. What was I saying? Right. Writing. Gotcha.
Writing was my Gandalf, to finish that metaphor, which
Clubhouse Story
GOOD NEWS PAGE 19
Clubhouse Story
The point is, writing continues to be a valuable tool in
combating the worst instincts within me, when the black dog of
my depression lurks in the shadows of my subconscious, growl-
ing softly, slavering hungrily, waiting for my most vulnerable
moments to lunge from the darkness. My methods have changed
in the intervening years; no longer do I write quite as much in
terms of quantity, but instead spend more time thinking about my
stories and the problems within them, a more measured and
contemplative approach that might slow my actual writing output
to a trickle, but achieves better results in the longer run (in my
opinion, or maybe that’s just hopeful optimism on my part, heh).
I’ve attended several screenwriting workshops over the last few
years, which have additionally helped to develop my skills and
confidence as a storyteller to a point where, for the first time in
my life, I feel truly vindicated in my craft, which for many years
living at home in my isolated, broken twenties had been scoffed
at with rolled eyes and scornful incredulity.
The publishing of my first novel didn’t hurt anything, I
suppose, though its low sales keep me ever humble. Don’t wanna
get a big head, now do I? I might become president and get
trapped in a job I’m woefully ill-equipped to do, becoming a
bloated, bloviating danger to myself and others… Anyhoo! In
closing, my seeking professional help in the form of counseling,
and subsequently forming healthy relationships within the
Fitzroy Centre, has aided in my recovery process for the last six
years. Along with my revised and sharpened writing habits, these
supports have given me a renewed sense of hope, purpose and
much-needed balance in a life that, in all honesty, I hadn’t seen
possible or even felt I deserved before joining the Club. Indeed,
writing inspired me to want to survive (barely), while the Club
and the wonderful people in it inspired me to want to live. A
combination of the two? The future’s much brighter than it was
before, that much is for certain.
GOOD NEWS PAGE 20 GOOD NEWS PAGE 20
Dinner & Discussion Working with Difficult
Customers
July 13 at 4:00 pm in Dining Room
Dinner: Spring Rolls & Chow Mein
July D&D
LAST MONTH’S EMPLOYMENT
STATS TE Statistics SE Statistics
Members Working
20 Members Working
13
Hours Worked
706.50 Hours worked
723.50
Wages
Earned $7,904.85
Wages
Earned $8,465.48
GOOD NEWS PAGE 21
TEP Placements
TE Site:
Alexandra Court
Janitorial
Hours: M/W/F 9:30-11:30am
Wage: $10.85/hr
Start Date: Sept 2016
Member: Karen
TE Site:
Stacey Green Catering
Hours: M-F 11:30-2pm
Wage: $10.85/hr
Start Date: Sept 2016
Member: Jennifer
TE Site:
Mass & Co Hours: Thurs 12-4pm
Wage: $10.85/hr
Start Date: Mar 2017
Member: Bonnie R.
TE Site:
Blundell Seafoods
Hours: M-Th 11:30-3:30pm
Wage: $11.00/hr
Start Date: Oct 2016
Members: Dennis
TE Site:
McDonalds
Lobby Worker
Hours: M-F 9:00-12:00pm,
12:00-4:00pm
Wage: $10.85/hr
Start Date: April/June 2017
Member: Bruce + Lorena
TE Site:
City Hall
Hours: T/Th 9:00-1:00pm
Wage: $10.85/hr
Start Date: Oct 2016
Member: Shirley
GOOD NEWS PAGE 22 GOOD NEWS PAGE 22
TE Site:
Heatherbrae Office
Hours: M/W/F 6:30-8:30am
Wage: $10.85/hr
Start Date: Jan/April 2017
Members: Tiffany & Mary
TE Site:
Heatherbrae Shop
Hours: T/F 1:30-4:30pm
Wage: $10.85/hr
Start Date: June 2017
Member: Blair B.
TE Site:
Richmond Chinese
Community Society
Hours: M/T/W/F 6:30-8:30am
Wage: $300/month
Start Date: Jan 2017
Member: Steve B.
TE Site:
City Centre
Hours: Tues/Thurs 9:00am-
12pm
Wage: $10.85/hr
Start Date: Aug 2016
Member: Melcia D.
TEP Placements Continued
TE Site:
Foodbank Kitchen
Hours: M/W/TH/F 1:30-3pm
Tuesday: 2—4 pm
Wage: $10.85/hr
Start Date: Feb/Mar 2017
Members: Greg & Sam
TE Site:
Richmond Holdings
Hours: M/W/TH/F 1:00-3:00pm
Wage: $10.85/hr
Start Date: July 2016
Member: Terry W.
TE Site:
Mothers Choice
Hours: Fri 10:00–12:50pm
Wage: $11.00/hr
Start Date: June 2017
Member: Michael W.
TE Site:
Minoru Senior Centre
Hours: M-F 11:30–3:30pm
Wage: $10.85/hr
Start Date: April 2016
Member: Dean Z.
TE Site:
Art Centre
Hours: M-F 11:30-3:30pm
Wage: $10.85/hr
Start Date: March 2017
Member: David R.H.
GOOD NEWS PAGE 23
Supported/Independent Employment
Name Site Name Site
Chantelle Hyde Support Worker Karen Person Food Services
Matthew Abe
Doaud
Baggage Handler -
Airport Ho Mei Cha 3H Craftworks
Bruce A. Greeter Chris Noble Peer Support Worker
Jose Campillo Peer Support
RCFC& Recreational
Leader
Karen Whittaker Preschool Assistant
Debbie Christian Dishwasher Darren Hayashi Health Care Aide
Richard Hooper Janitor Maria Petruic Food Services
Gina Haines Peer Support Worker Carmen
Schneebli
Demonstrator
Peter Hunsche Lot Maintenance
&Landscaping Jeannette Vo Office Assistant
Lisa Kline Reception Tiffany Ellison Airport Greeter
Paul Christensen Fork Lift Operator Derek Young Front Desk Attendant
Kevin Kwan Cafeteria Worker Mike
Vanderhijde
Temp worker
Glenn
Cunningham
Peer Support Worker
Trevor Drake
Labourer
Jamie Cornish
Nina Lacambra
Cook
Cafeteria Worker
Julie Page
Glenn Zunicki
Office Assistant
Labourer
Nelson Bardon
Vincent Kui
Labourer
Produce Worker
Wendy Willis
Scott Woodburn
Labourer
Labourer
CJ Ellison
Mary C.
Dog Walker
Receptionist
Jane Norman
Dennis
Chamberlain
Cafeteria Worker
Labourer
GOOD NEWS PAGE 24
The Good News requests your articles about the Clubhouse, your personal story, what is
happening in the mental health community, employment and education. Submit your articles
to the Clerical Unit.
A Guaranteed Right To a place to come To meaningful work To meaningful relationships To a place to return
Thanks to everyone who helped
get the Good News out.
Recommended