Rising Above Schizophrenia, Homelessness, and Loss: Jaime’s Road to Recovery

Jaime was born and raised in Costa Rica, where he went to school until grade 6 before leaving to help on his family's commercial farm. In 1995, he married a Canadian woman and moved to Vancouver to start a new life. He worked a variety of jobs, including janitorial, kitchen staff, and construction labourer, until his divorce in 2006. In 2010, he fell ill and started a 12-year-long treatment journey for schizophrenia and HIV.

After years of treatment, another challenge awaited him. As housing prices inflated, he could not find affordable housing and ended up in shelters. "I had a hard time finding a place where I live. I get into shelters, and in the shelters, I lost everything. I start from zero," he shares. Jaime experienced instability, violence, theft, and worsened symptoms of schizophrenia. During one incident, someone assaulted him and burned his cheek with a cigarette. At another shelter, he had everything stolen, including his bank cards, passport, and clothes. Eventually, in the winter of 2023, Jaime was hospitalized with severe hallucinations and paranoia.

During his time in the hospital, Jaime met with a social worker who helped him secure a place to live when he was discharged. Having a warm place to call home had made all the difference. “Two years ago, I had no house, no place to stay, nothing,” I tell people. “Today, I have a place where I can cook, I can take a shower, I can sleep, I can work. It’s very nice. Sometimes I don’t believe it’s true." Once he had the stability of housing, Jaime was ready to continue to build a sustainable life for himself.

At the recommendation of his psychiatrist, Jaime joined Mission Possible. "The decision to me was like, it's an opportunity given to me, like a gift. I guess, no other place gives me that opportunity." Recognizing that MP was the place for him to find support staying on the path to stability, Jaime brought his best self and took advantage of every resource. He sought help updating his resume and cover letter, worked with his coach to identify his career goals, met with our Community Services Coordinator for housing support, and accessed hot lunches and pantry items. While the language barrier is still a challenge for him, Jaime is attending two English classes a week and hopes to complete them soon: "If I start, I want to finish."  

Working on the Clean Team has improved Jaime's time management skills, enabling him to balance his English classes with his work. When he started at MP, he worked two shifts a week, but has now increased his hours to three weekly shifts. "[MP] just opened a new, new window for me. In the beginning, I was kind of, kind of shy person, very shy but I've improved myself. I can go, go, go, and now I feel comfortable. Everybody is very nice, very friendly, my coworkers, and it's made me feel like no stranger, stable." He regularly works on Hastings Street, our busiest route, and even recalls it being his first ever shift. The satisfaction of a job well done makes the challenging aspects manageable for Jaime, who shares that his favourite moment during a shift is when he turns around and sees a clean street behind him.

Looking forward, Jaime wants to focus on gratitude. "[I am] grateful, with God first, and then with the whole MP organization. I'm thinking, I'm so lucky." He is also thankful for the money he makes, which he sends home to his mother in Costa Rica. "With Mission Possible, the money I make, I save it to help my mom, send it home to my mother. She is a survivor of cancer, and I am really happy to be able to do something to help, either with medicine, with food, or whatever she wants. If she wants to buy anything, she can buy it. It made me feel very, feeling good that I can make money." The money that Jaime doesn't send home, he is saving to visit her on Mother's Day. 

Jaime hopes to continue his work at MP and begin another contract, possibly with our janitorial or landscaping team. While he works on applications for these roles, he is also searching for long-term permanent employment at a thrift store or in the field of food security. Since starting at MP, Jaime feels a stronger sense of purpose and improved mental health, and we are excited to see where this momentum takes him.

This holiday season, you can help more people like Jaime find hope and stability through meaningful work. 
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