PETSTUFFONTHEGO.CA - Key Persons

Job Titles:

• Director of Operations at Affirmative Ventures

Lori Edgar, Director of Operations at Affirmative Ventures and Petstuff on the Go, believes that the main challenges for individuals who join them aren't task-oriented, but attitude-oriented. The biggest obstacle for individuals who walk through their doors is changing their mindset to realize that they can achieve whatever they set their sights on. The continued growth of mental health social enterprises will continue to catalyze a change in dialogue surrounding employment opportunities for people with mental illness or disability, and to encourage mainstream employers to see ability, not disability. Each individual at Petstuff is connected to a job coach and clinician via provincial mental health services, with each participant receiving regular 20-day check-ups from staff at Petstuff to identify strengths and challenges. A key goal for Lori and other mentors is to help their employees become confident in what it means to be respected and valued in a workplace. The blend between human service, program-running and business can be difficult to manage, especially with people who may need more time to adjust to a full working day, so flexibility in working hours is a crucial element, as it is in most businesses, of their enterprise. After the 12-week program has finished, participants are assisted to find permanent employment in the community. When outside employment is found, job coaching continues at the new placement to ensure that the individual is thoroughly confident and happy in their job.