The Mission Possible Credo - People, Purpose, Paycheque

Posted on December 9, 2013 by institute B

For the past 20 years, Mission Possible has been transforming lives of those challenged by homelessness and poverty. Charles Katebi of institute B sat down with Lindsay Vander Hoek, Community Life Manager and Jordan Berrner, Program Coordinator of Mission Possible and discovered why they’ve chosen to address these complex social issues through work programs - rather than through conventional charity. And learned about the amazing success they’ve achieved.

institute B: What does Mission Possible’s guiding philosophy mean to you?

Lindsay: It ties in with my values as a person, that each person is created with amazing skills, talent, and value and Mission Possible’s vision and mission is to demonstrate that by providing opportunity to people, whether its volunteer or paid, can provide dignity and a sense of purpose through that meaningful work. For me that means providing opportunities for people to use their skills and purpose things they have forgotten about. It reminds me to remind myself that I have value.

Jordan: It gives me hope that I live in a community with strengths and abilities. It’s a powerful idea considering common stereotypes people have of the downtown east side and I have hope in this community because I see on a daily basis the desire to work and to contribute through both volunteering and paid employment and being a part of a business where people want to change and become better. It’s a powerful message, but as an individual it shows that people can change and become better.

What attracted you to working for Mission Possible?

Lindsay: From what I’ve learned through community development is how important a sense of ownership is for people as well as providing space for people to be valued. It’s an equal space where people of every walk of life can come and work alongside another and learn from one another. For me it’s the message that everyone has equal value and that we provide work for people. That’s sustainable change and not just putting a Band-Aid on problems. That’s why I was attracted to working for Mission Possible.

Jordan: A tag word we use around here that resonates with me personally is “dignity” and that there is dignity in participating in a community and giving your time and your energy to get things done. There’s ownership in that that is powerful and dignity in earning a paycheck through your enterprises. What initially attracted me to mission possible was its efforts to create dignity through opportunity.

Why has Mission Possible chosen to address poverty and homelessness through work programs rather than through conventional charity?

Lindsay: Through providing an opportunity for people to achieve dignity through work. It’s a more permanent form of providing change than typical charity. How charity is considered now, be it soup kitchens, giving out food, going out handing out hot chocolate; that is not the original form of charity. The Latin word for charity has more meaning than giving, it has a component of justice. So when you think about typical charity now, it differs from the root word. It’s not just giving out free things, which as we know now doesn’t provide sustainable change. It’s not just providing opportunity, its providing community and the spiritual support around that, that’s where change can start coming.

Jordan: If we were just to address poverty that would be too daunting. We participate in a larger group of organizations and companies that focus on poverty and we see ourselves as being part of a larger conversation. We see employment as being integral to this conversation because having a job is more than just fighting poverty; it’s creating a sense of dignity and a more whole person who can find identity in participation.

How does Mission Possible prepare people meaningful and long lasting employment?

Jordan: When someone is referred to us from our partners in the community, initially there is the opportunity for them to meet with a job coach. It’s someone that does an initial baseline review of the person’s assets and skills this person would bring to a job but also their challenges. It’s not an interview. It’s a self-exploration, it stems from the place that everyone has value that they bring to a job. The coach also goes through a person’s goals and aspirations. It’s self-focused, it’s self-directed.

So it’s a discovery process?

Jordan: Exactly, It’s at the participant’s initiative. Then we invite them to step into our workshops, which is a ten-hour program, which upon competing is a marketable skill that people could put on their resume, there’s a certificate they receive and can show to any prospective employer. These teach soft skills, which include professionalism, team work, and workmanship which really target universal skills that any employee regardless of occupation must have.

After that we invite them to the interview process. We do hire at Mission Possible. Obviously we cannot hire everyone that wants to interview with us. We’re in the process of developing relationships with other businesses that want to hire people that are graduating our “work readiness course” which encompasses the process I just outlined.

What are notable personal examples of Mission Possible’s positive impact on peoples’ lives?

Jordan: I was just talking to this guy that was referred to us by MP community who came in because he was looking for a job, he’s a single father with two kids. He went through our initial baseline skills assessment, then the workshop, then the goal-setting review and afterwards we hired him. Every time I see him we have these conversations where he says: “I feel like I’m really taking positive steps” and “every step I’ve set out to achieve I’ve accomplished, now I’m working on other ones I’ve set out to do.“

To see the excitement and joy that comes from him in our conversations is one of the reasons why we do what we do.

What challenges have you encountered fostering dignity in the people that approach MP?

Lindsay: What we would talk about the most is how to encourage people to commit to being present when they need to be. With the volunteer program, people will commit and not show up. Part of it is the culture of the wider neighborhood here. It is, “Well if I can’t get food here then I’ll go get food there. It doesn’t really matter because the people at these organizations are there to serve me anyways.” There’s this sense of entitlement that causes people not to hold themselves accountable and responsible. It’s a challenge finding ways to provide incentives for people to show up. It helps when they’re being paid but that doesn’t always work either.

Jordan: One of the biggest challenges we face is we see ourselves as transitional so we refer to the people who work with us as interns or associates, but they are not long-term staff. When we hire people, we hire them for six months because we see ourselves as a platform. We see ourselves as a catalyst for individuals that want to work but for various reasons do not have very much experience but want to find those permanent jobs. The challenge we face is finding opportunities with local businesses to hire someone that may have certain barriers to employment. There are lots of hopes and dreams and solutions we have, but making that happen is a completely different story.

For people that have competed your program, what has been their record in the businesses you’ve connected them with?

Jordan: In 2012, 85% people that graduated the six-month program had either gone back to school or have moved on to work. It’s proven that working actually works. Working creates a snowball effect where you’re able to pick up speed. Then you think about what’s next, what am I going to do after this? You start thinking about your schedule and your day-to-day events. There more than just anecdotal evidence, there’s research to prove it.

Were there times in your life where you questioned your self-worth? How did you overcome your challenges?

Lindsay: They’re definitely times I’ve questioned my worth and value, on the journey to becoming who I am now, and where I am going to end up. And if I will end up doing anything worthwhile. I’ve done work in Haiti and Tanzania and both times I was reminded that it’s not this idea that I can save the world but it’s more about being who I am being in the process of my work. It’s been a real learning process.

Jordan: I don’t think you can talk to anyone on our staff who would say that they haven’t lacked dignity before. We all have but the fact that we are participating in a community that is actively seeking to engage in these important things. For me personally this stems from my faith and belief that I’m hardwired to work towards something bigger than myself. That gives me the encouragement to do what I do. But there are days when you’re just tired.

Lindsay: We all need community and spiritual support, but we need value for ourselves in order to take those steps and different people get this from different sources. For me it’s the belief that I have been created as an amazing person and there are amazing things about me as there are amazing things about everyone else. And I need to remind myself of that because I can be really hard on myself. Part of the challenge as staff is to demonstrate and live that out as an example of valuing and caring for ourselves. In doing that, we encourage others.

Are Mission Possible’s methods in promoting dignity being noticed or emulated by other organizations interested in aiding the less fortunate?

Lindsay: We’ve seen some organizations focus more on engaging with others in the community to volunteer.

Jordan: There’s an increasing trend towards employing those with barriers and I find hope in the future. I see businesses that are asking these tougher questions of what are our values. What are our priorities, what are our responsibilities as a business especially businesses that are coming into this neighborhood for the first time.

What lasting legacy does Mission Possible hope to leave on the lives and communities that it works with?

Jordan: At the end of the day, we want to be known as a group that is people focused, so we value their skills, assets, and abilities. We want to be a purposeful organization. We know why we do the things that we do and we do those well. We want to be known as an organization that provides employment opportunities for people that want to go back into work.

Lindsay: We talk about people that are over challenged, but we might say that they are under challenged because they lack greater opportunities.

Written By,
Charles Katebi

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