Page 18 - EMBERS 2020 Annual Report

EMBERS Eastside Works
EMBERS Eastside Works is a pilot employment project located at 57 East Hastings to test out new employment approaches designed to meet residents of the Downtown Eastside, where they are at, and start them on a path towards earning a supplemental income and productivity.
One of the successful strategies for employing people with multiple barriers has been through Peer Employment. Peer Employment is an approach whereby individuals with lived experience provide social, practical, and emotional support to others who share a common experience and culture. Eastside Works has been hiring local residents from the Downtown Eastside to outreach and provide support to other residents in the neighbourhood, who may be living on the street, and dealing with mental health and addictions. In 2020, some $350,000 were paid in wages to local residents in the peer programs.
The three peer work programs in 2020 were:
Chinatown Ambassador program, where by local residents provide support to Chinatown businesses in maintaining safety and cleanliness of the area.
Perch Stewardship Program (3 months), which hired local residents to setup/tear down seating in Cathedral Park, and keep the area clean.
Peer Demonstration Project, whereby EMBERS coordinated peer employment projects with 5 organizations and provided a research component to study and assess the impacts of this model (for the Provincial Ministry of Advanced Education and Training).
In addition, Eastside Works was instrumental in creating a new Low-Barrier Employment Provincial Network that includes over 20 organizations across BC to share best practices and advocate for changes to current employment services to make them more inclusive.
Wages paid out in $200K+ Paid by Peer Workers at internal jobs partner organizations
16
$150K+