Meeting November 2003
Fraser South EPI (Early Psychosis Intervention) Parents' Meeting, November, 2003
At least 28 people attended this meeting including Walter lidster, facilitator from Fraser South
EPI program, Nancy Clark from the British Columbia Schizophrenia Society (BCSS), Chrystal Mihelic
representing the Fraser Health Authority, and family members representing about 16 seperate
families.
The meeting was opened by Walter Lidster with an overview of the rules for the meeting.
It was announced that the next parent meeting would be January 27th, 2004, and that there
is a meeting regarding Genetics and Psychosis to be held January 14th 2004, 7pm to 9pm at
Peace Arch Hospital. The Fraser South EPI website; www.psychosissucks.ca and the Peer Support
for Parents Of Psychosis Sufferers website; www.psychosissupport.com were both introduced
and reconmmended.
The topic chosen for this meeting was Vocational and Job Opportunities for EPI clients in
recovery. Invited guest Chrystal Mihelic from the Fraser Health Authority explained that the
current situation regarding available programs was in a state of change. Due to government
changes some programs are no longer available, and Chrystal is working to coordinate the
resources currently available in the community. Rehabilitation, leisure, residential, and
work services as well as peer support programs and the 'buddy' system were mentioned.
The key then is to determine what services are available to the community NOW following recent
government cut-backs.
Discussion covered some of the services provided by Surrey Rehab Services, and issues like the
Job Club, the edge program, available bursaries and scholarships were briefly introduced. (See
follow-up at the end of these notes for more information regarding the edge program).
Mention was also made about
checking the BCSS web site for jobs/work opportunities. Chrystal mentioned that a good way
for clients to start back into the work scene is through volunteer work. A parent mentioned
that their child enrolled in a horticulture course through adult education before going back
to school full time and that this was a successful strategy.
When looking at vocational and job skills, the first step is to map out the goals. To do this
it is necessary to look at the types of services available.
There are four stages involved:
The career desicion making process.
Job search skills -
Skills enhancement - Education & personal management
Maintenance - Ongoing support
Discussions included assessing skills and aptitudes and matching skills to opportunities.
Mention was also made of a 4 step program on the PEPP web site.
Following a short break, a check-in with those present generated discussions around clients
taking ownership of their illness and the difficulties of clients having insight into their
own condition. The importance of parent education with regard to these issues was stressed.
Generally there were more positive reports than negative ones, and again the value of group
meetings such as these was obvious.
Follow-up:
Check out the internet www.abilityedge.ca
Ability Edge is an internship program specifically designed for university, college and high
school graduates with disabilities. Through Ability Edge’s 6-, 9- or 12-month internships,
graduates with disabilities obtain meaningful work experience in their field at many Canadian
organizations in a variety of industries.
The Ability Edge program is a great way to launch your career. Ability Edge internships are in
a wide range of fields, such as finance, marketing, and computer science. Career Edge ensures
that each position is challenging and provides a significant learning opportunity. Over 50% of
our interns are hired by their host organizations, and over 85% find work in their field within
one to two months of completing their internship.
Another good link with lots of information about returning to work can be found through the CMHA
Web site, specifically: http://www.cmha.ca/english/routes/index.html
The Routes to Work project is funded by the Opportunities Fund of the Human Resources Development
Canada (OF-HRDC) Human Resources Development Canada.
If you have comments you would like to share please email pspops@psychosissupport.com