Not Just a Job Developer

One Individual

I started working with an individual in March of this year who had been recently laid off due to “restructuring”. The individual had been diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum just six years ago, quite late in life, and had spent most of their life just getting by. Had gone to post-secondary and has specific, highly desired certifications and licenses. Spent the last 15 years working minimum-wage (or just above), entry-level jobs. Faced discrimination, bullying, ostracization.

The system let this individual down at every stage. They live a quiet life led by routine, not spending very much, receiving support from family and friendly neighbours when available. They just want to live their life, do their job, pay their bills, and get on with their day. They are a delight to work with! Incredibly reliable, always on time, knowledgeable about the details of their experiences. Not super talkative but will make small talk if the silence looms too long (I’m really good at letting silences loom).

We started job search quickly because the individual was in a tight financial situation and already knew what kind of work they wanted to be doing. Job search was typical, lots of barriers because employers don’t want to have to accommodate – even when that accommodation consists of just basic human decency, meeting an individual where they’re at, and giving them what they need to be successful (ex. time, patience, and compassion are usually all that’s needed). Lots of interviews. No offers. Typical.

Drowning

Not as typical (for me) was all the other foundational support that this individual needed. In April, they came with a dentist’s bill, and a treatment plan for a whole lot more. They had a big insurance bill coming up, too. Their garage had been broken into and the door no longer works. Their car’s wiper fluid wasn’t working. They were suddenly required to pay back the CERB money they received. And then they had a mental health crisis requiring intervention. I mean, how could you not, with all that?

So, we got to work on that stuff, too. We researched financial support, emergency funding, government aid. We filled out application after application after application. I sat down with them for a full day going over every bill, every service provider. We called them all up asking for ways to save money. We got a little bit of funding from the government. Then that was taken away, because they made a mistake. We talked to the place where they were getting their dental work done and begged for help. We were approved for funding for a minority percentage of the dental work – contingent on the other money being taken care of. I went to the individual’s house while they were getting their new internet/cable hooked up (saving $60/month), because I personally know how wrong it can go if there’s not someone watching and able to speak up to make sure it’s done right.

We were connected to an amazing community resource (shout out to Prosper Place!), but the individual’s anxiety prevented them from just going there. So, the director came to us, to our office, where the individual already felt comfortable. The next week, the individual and I went for a tour of the place. The week after that, the individual went on their own. Every meeting I have with the individual since, I’m encouraging them to attend, use the services offered, make conversation.

We got the individual hooked up with the food bank. We’re working to find more community supports, build those natural supports. We’ve worked on digital literacy. And throughout it all, interviews. And not hearing back. Reaching out to employers, and not hearing back.

We’re working on an application for the Disability Tax Credit for the individual, but it requires a doctor to fill out a whole bunch of information. The individual’s doctor retired early this year. We set up an appointment for a new doctor. The new doctor refused to fill out the paperwork without seeing the individual’s previous year’s tax information, because “what if they’re already getting the DTC and just don’t know?” (that’s a whole other post right there). Never mind that we wrote a note for the individual to present to the doctor, stating that we were working with them on this, providing paperwork – paperwork that included literally every answer to every question that the doctor is asked to respond to in the application. So, we made an appointment with another doctor. Before that appointment, I called to tell them exactly what we need and find out every single way that might be an issue, so that this time, fingers crossed, it got done. It didn’t get done. So, we have to figure that out still. Then we just have to wait four to one million months for the application to get through the government.

More interviews. More applications. More rejections. So much ghosting. And, through it all, anxiety, fear, and uncertainty for the individual. ?

Light

A colleague reached out with a contact they’d been working with in another city – they were looking for someone in our city that matched the skills of the individual I was supporting. This contact, an HR professional with a personal passion for inclusive hiring, worked with me to determine if this might be a good fit. She talked to the bosses at the hiring location. She and I talked some more. I met with the bosses. I talked to the HR contact. The individual and I met with the bosses. I talked to the HR contact. The HR contact talked to the bosses. The bosses talked to each other. An offer was made – and accepted! It’s not a glamourous job, but it’s a good job. It’s going to be using the specific skills that the individual has. The organization did not send up a single red flag throughout the process – and actually, there were quite a few green ones. The individual is going to be making more than minimum wage. More than a living wage. They might even get close to a thriving wage. And there’s opportunity for growth within the organization. And a union. And a supportive environment. And I’ll be there to support this, too. I attended the first day of onboarding with the individual, and the individual came to our office on his off day to get support in finishing up some of their onboarding and training tasks. I was there to support the individual during some more intensive safety training, too.

Conclusion ?

Reading back over this, it doesn’t even come close to depicting the emotional drain that I felt during this process. Navigating so many broken systems just trying to get help for an individual that objectively needs and deserves help. It’s as close to social work as I think I’ve ever come, and it illuminated for me just how hard that work is. I can’t imagine doing all of that for every single person I support – and I bet I’d have a bigger caseload then, too. I can say absolutely that if I had been putting in this much effort just for myself, for services I needed, I would have given up months and months ago. And I did give up on some things that I was trying to accomplish for myself during this process, just so I had more to give to this person.

This was my experience as a job developer for one individual. And not a typical one in the sheer amount of myriad support that was needed. But elements of it are present with each person I work with. Financial support. Mental health support. Physical health support. Confidence. Motivation. All these little things that everybody has to deal with or figure out. That, if left too long, gets out of hand. For this individual, they got out of hand. And every single little piece of everything I’ve talked about comes together to affect a person’s ability to be the best employee they can be. Heck, they come together to affect a person’s ability to even look for a job.

I tried to figure it out while I was writing this – what’s the point? What do I want folks who read this to come away with? And I don’t really know. I wanted to offer a glimpse into one person’s world. That represents the struggles that so many people face. To shine some humanity on the issue. To have people understand that it’s not “just” finding a job. It’s not “just” supporting people in finding a job.

And I guess I want to make you consider – what are elements of your job that you never imagined from the outset? What are other people dealing with that you have no idea about? What can you do to make the lives of the people around you a little less hard by virtue of your role?