Compassion for Community: Nicole's Story

Nicole has lived in British Columbia her entire life, spending most of her adult years working construction jobs in Prince George. She came to Vancouver briefly in 2019 for a recovery program, then returned to Prince George for a few years afterward. After facing a divorce, eviction, and limited local support for trans women, Nicole ultimately decided to return to Vancouver to reconnect with her community. When she arrived, she entered the shelter system and began volunteering, doing outreach. 

Living and volunteering in the Downtown Eastside community, Nicole soon became familiar with Mission Possible and our associates, past and present. After trying a few other employment programs and struggling to find the right fit, Nicole decided to join the Employment Readiness Program. Nicole immediately felt an increased sense of purpose and enjoyed the supportive environment at MP. She shared, "I love to see other people achieve their goals and just get everything that they deserve." 

In addition to an overall positive change in her life brought on by her meaningful work on the Clean Team, Nicole also benefitted from MP's wraparound supports like the food pantry, computer support, and resume and cover letter workshops. Workshopping her resume and cover letter proved to be especially helpful, since she previously found work through word of mouth and felt like she couldn’t return to her previous careers for the sake of her mental health.

During her one-on-one coaching sessions, Nicole appreciated having a space to talk about her values without facing judgment, and found that it helped her organize her thoughts and goals. She shared, "I have 100,000 things going on at once. [I feel like] all of my goals have to be realized within this amount of time. And, you know, it is nice to just have some person just be like, just calm down one step at a time." 

Nicole’s biggest goal when she joined the ERP was to reclaim her life prior to her transition and re-establish herself in Vancouver. Working closely with the community has been a positive experience for Nicole, despite the occasional challenges and de-escalations. “It also just gives me, like, the ability to build rapport with not only the associates, but continue building rapport with the community members,” she shares. After only 2 months in the ERP, Nicole secured a position as a Clean Team Technician, where she took on the additional responsibilities of driving the crews to the job site and keeping associates on time throughout their shift. This new role was an important step towards her goal of becoming a Clean Team Supervisor at Mission Possible. Nicole's strong work ethic and supportive nature ultimately paid off, and she was welcomed as the newest permanent staff member in February. 

Navigating the new dynamics between her and other associates posed some challenges for Nicole at first, as she wanted to make sure tasks were being completed while also maintaining a level of camaraderie with the crew. "I am just trying to make sure that everybody does the best that they possibly can," she shared. She has since adjusted to her role and feels more confident owning tasks and expressing herself in the workplace. Being able to collaborate with other staff members helped her feel more comfortable, and Nicole shared, “The way that they approach problems with compassion and empathy, it definitely is quite a different culture than a lot of the places that I've worked at before." 

Now that Nicole has a steady paycheque to rely on, she is looking to complete some of the goals she has been sitting on for some time. Before arriving at MP, she had partially completed a degree in microbiology and other subjects, and would like to finish at least one, even if it has been ten years. We are excited to see where Nicole's ambitions take her!