Segue Career Options marked its 20th anniversary last week with a barbecue celebration that brought together current and former staff, students, and community supporters.
The Eden Health Care Services program helps people who have barriers to employment overcome those challenges to find meaningful work. They have offices in both Winkler and Steinbach.
For Tim Matthews, the program has been a life-changing experience.
“People see my disability before they see my ability,” he shared. Matthews is visually impaired and navigates the world with the aid of a cane or a guide dog.
Working with his job coach at Segue, Matthews was able to secure employment in the Co-op café for many years before moving over to the store’s meat department as a butcher’s assistant.
“Being able to access knives as big as my arm was a fantastic, joyful thing,” he said. “It really made me believe that I can do anything I want.”
When his position at the store was phased out, Matthews worked with Segue once again to find a job with KU Custom Finishings.
“They gave me the ability to do my job by placing tape on the floor, which allowed me to find my work station,” Matthews explained in going over a few of the accomodations made to ensure his success.
That role came to an end last spring, and so Matthews is back at Segue once again on the hunt for his next challenge.
“Segue’s a blessing,” he said. “They are an organization that truly does what they say they’re going to do. The people who run Segue, all the staff, if it wasn’t for them I wouldn’t be here. If it wasn’t for Co-op, I wouldn’t be here. If it wasn’t for KU, I wouldn’t be here.
“Winkler is an amazing town … [that] takes care of their own, and I’m proud to be a Winklerite,” Matthews added, stressing he’s going to continue working hard to find a job. “I’m going to keep going. My strive and my drive come from within my soul.
“I have friends that tell me, ‘You know, Tim, I don’t think anybody in your life has ever told you that you’re blind.’ I do whatever I can. I’m not disabled. I have an ability. There’s a big difference.”
Segue is an integral part of Eden’s scope of care in the community, observed CEO Brad Unger.
“Eden is known for supporting mental health, and an important part of that is providing wrap-around supports to the community to help maintain and promote our mental health,” he said. “If we do this right, it’s more than helping people get a paycheck … it’s more than helping people become contributing members of society. If we do it right, it’s about working with participants where they’re at and supporting that larger, more holistic view of employment … where people explore vocation, calling, purpose, meaning, a sense of community and belonging, fulfilment.
“For some, that could mean paid employment. For others it’s about education or retraining. For some, it’s about volunteering or using their skills in some other way. It can look different for different people based on their unique abilities. But when we do this right, it’s a high calling. It’s investing in people and it’s about helping to change lives for the good.”
Segue Career Options grew out of the former Trainex Centre, which was established in 1982 as a transitional employment program for discharged patients of the Eden Mental Health Centre, providing them with a sheltered workshop environment.
In 2004-2005, the Trainex program transitioned into a community-based employment support service and changed its name to Segue. Its services—vocational assessments, work training, job placements, and follow-up assistance—are offered free of charge.
Program director Lavonne Kroeker said they had about 100 people come through Segue over the past year. Thousand of people have been helped over the past two decades.
They couldn’t do it without the support of local businesses, she stressed.
“Our business community has been amazing. We have long-term partners, new small startup businesses, and many others who welcome participants to do a work experience so they can find out what a job is like, what it means to follow instructions, receiving constructive feedback, and setting an alarm each morning.
“Thank you for partnering with us, for believing in the work that we do, and being willing to make accommodations.”
Kroeker urges unemployed or underemployed people to get in touch with Segue to learn how they might be able to help.
“We’re available as a resource in the community, so if you’re ever unsure about whether it might be a good fit, just reach out to us,” she said. “And also for businesses as well, we’re happy to have a conversation with no pressure to find out what works.”
You can learn more online at edenhealthcare.ca.
