Vancouver peer program hiring more youth workers

A new program in Vancouver for youth to support other young people could be a stepping stone to more jobs in health care and social work.

For those that need extra help, Foundry BC gives young people the opportunity to support other youth, and thanks to a $16 million dollar grant from the B.C. government, it will be able to give more jobs they say could lead to work in healthcare and social services.

Amanda Horne has been a peer support worker for almost a year at Foundry’s Vancouver branch, one of 14 support centres in B.C.

She says she helps young people with everything, from doing taxes to giving support during a mental health crisis.

“It can be very different depending on the day. I help facilitate groups, so there’s Smart Recovery, which I helped facilitate. I have a caseload of roughly about ten clients that I see on a regular basis. But there’s also people that drop in and I just kind of meet them where they’re at,” Horne said.

The jobs qualifications require someone to be able to finish a recognized training program, and to have experience working with young people.

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Kali Sedgemore works in peer harm reduction and support for different health authorities, and says they hope Foundry can avoid some of the pitfalls of other peer programs, where those with lived experience help others.

“It’s good that it’s been formalized, but it also can cause a lot of barriers,” said Sedgemore. “A lot of times when things become formal, it can have a lot of stricter rules and stuff like that. Which creates a lot of barriers for youth,” said Sedgemore.

It is not a new concept, peer support work is seen in health jurisdictions across the continent helping people who want to connect with others with lived experiences.

Foundry says these positions will be accessible to young people from many different backgrounds.

“Peer support can be an initial stepping stone or a first position that a young person might have. It’s a very low barrier position,” said Paige Lougheed, a peer support coordinator with Foundry.

Sedgemore also notes appropriate training and support for new workers will be key.

“Hopefully this works out because other ones have failed, or … have fallen through the cracks because there’s not much interest, or just not enough people that are having the same experience as other people. So, it’s difficult to try and maintain that,” they said.