Kim’s Story: The Difference Community Makes

Kim is a mom of two grown boys and is a former education assistant. 

After a workplace injury and mental health crisis landed her in the hospital for ten days in 2013, Kim struggled to regain her footing. This left her feeling isolated and stuck. 

“I tried to go back to work four or five times, but it never worked out. I’d go downhill again and end up on a new medication. My rent was so high and I was struggling month to month, bouncing between places I could barely afford and fearful for my future.” 

 Despite the instability she was facing, Kim was determined to continue onwards, and build a better life for her family. As she began her healing journey, Kim started by looking at services in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside to help her get back on her feet. She is proud of her resilience and the effort she’s put into healing, and credits therapy for helping her out. It was in therapy that she learned that she has PTSD from her childhood trauma, and this was a big eye opener. Kim shares “I didn’t know what was wrong with me, but learning that I had PTSD helped me make a lot of sense of my life.” 

In 2022, Kim started our Employment Readiness Program and joined Mission Possible's Clean Team, picking up litter and needles around the Downtown Eastside and keeping the city streets clean. She received an Employee of the Month award that August and has continued to pursue her personal and professional growth with the support of her Mission Possible coach. 

Unlike her earlier attempts to return to work, Kim found the team at Mission Possible to be understanding, non-judgemental, and flexible. “It made a big difference to be able to work only a few days a week at first, and protect the time I needed to heal,” she shares. “I am so much stronger, physically and emotionally, since coming to Mission Possible.”

All of this is possible because you welcomed her into this supportive community. 

The demand for our program has increased dramatically in the past year. More people than ever before are facing the same housing instability and lack of accessible work opportunities that Kim once did. 

The recently released Metro Vancouver Homeless count reported a 32% increase in homelessness since the COVID-19 pandemic started. The margins for keeping people housed, employed, and off the streets are razor thin now. 

For those who may have been shut out of the workforce for years, part-time employment is often the difference between making rent and not making rent. It’s the difference between having a home and facing a winter on the streets. 

With the generous support of our Mission Possible community this holiday season, we can connect more people to meaningful work than ever before. We can help people lean on their strengths, grow their confidence and pursue opportunities that benefit both themselves and their community. 

When you give today, you will empower people to transform their lives and secure a better, more stable future for themselves and their families.