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At Work program helps Nova Scotians living with mental health challenge find employment
Mar 12, 2024
Research tells us that individuals who live with a mental illness can and want to work, but many struggle to find work. When they do, the work often doesn’t meet their goals or abilities.
In fact, 70 to 90 per cent of people living with serious mental illnesses in Canada are unemployed. Unemployment rates among people living with depression or anxiety can be over 30%.
The At Work team helps Nova Scotians living with a mental illness who are unemployed or under-employed obtain competitive employment by connecting them to workplaces that match their strengths, skills, and needs to build resilience and bring experienced employees to workplaces.
Working alongside both employers and clients, the At Work team develops an achievable action plan that supports mental wellness to ensure success.
DETAILS:
- Date: Wednesday, March 27 | 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.
- Where: Virtual [via Zoom]
- Who should attend? Everyone is welcome to attend any of these sessions. We encourage those who think they might qualify for the program and employers who are interested in learning about mental health in the workplace and fostering a safe, inclusive work environment.
*PLEASE NOTE: A Zoom link to join the session will be sent out one day prior to the session to those who register. Please register in advance.
How does At Work, work?
- Legally entitled to work in Canada
- Resides in Nova Scotia
- Unemployed or underemployed
How are employment and mental health connected?
Employment is one of many factors that influence over all health and well-being. Employment that provides a livable income not only provides financial stability, which is an important part of quality of life, also has other benefits to overall well-being, including;
- A sense of structure
- Social activities and social supports
- Personal achievement
- A sense of purpose
- A sense of status and identity
For people living with a mental illness, employment may bring a lot of well-being and may even help promote recovery. Studies show that people living with a substance use problem are more likely to seek help when they’re employed.
Individual costs of unemployment
Unemployment also has a big impact on well-being. Studies found that unemployed people who received the same amount of income assistance as they earned when they worked still experienced a loss of well-being. Here are some ways that unemployment, especially when you didn’t plan it, affects your well-being:
- Higher stress
- Lower self-esteem
- Fear about the future
- Social isolation
- Stigma
- Increased risk of problematic substance use
- Increased risk of a mental illness
- Worsening symptoms of a mental illness
Community costs of unemployment
Unemployment costs communities because people aren’t contributing to the economy. It costs the Canadian economy billions of dollars. But the cost of unemployment to a community is about more than money—it affects the well-being of the entire community. Some of these costs include:
- Lower life satisfaction across the entire community—as unemployment rates rise, people across an entire community feel less satisfied with their own quality of life, even those with jobs
- Rising health problems—a Canadian study found that a 10% rise in unemployment would increase number of people dying from heart disease by almost 2%. Suicide rates would go up by just under 1%, and just over 4% more people would be admitted to psychiatric hospitals
Questions? Contact Tracy Hiltz at [email protected]