When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie

Julie Zimmerman spends a lot of time scanning Craigslist want ads for job opportunities on the North Shore. She’s not job hunting for herself – she’s quite happy being a Vocational Counselor with VCH’s North Vancouver Community Mental Health Team – but for her clients who want to get back into the labour force.

Part of Julie’s job is also being an Individual Placement and Support (IPS) worker.  Her job is to assist work-ready clients with mental health challenges find or get back to work. She handles a caseload of 40 to 50 clients who are dealing with a range of issues from depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder or schizophrenia.

“I work with a variety of people – college educated, university students, people with a background in trades, as well as folks looking for entry-level positions,” explains Julie, who works out of the HOpe Centre at Lions Gate Hospital. “Part of my role is to partner with local businesses in order to help them find suitable job candidates. Often this involves talking with the business about ‘hard-to-fill’ positions, and pre-screening potential candidates within my client list.”

Young restaurateur gives mental health clients a shot

As much as Julie loves her job, she’d rather talk about community partners such as Francesca Galasso, a young entrepreneur who opened Il Castello pizzeria in the Lower Lonsdale area last December and has hired three of Julie’s clients.

“Francesca is amazing, has a heart for her community and is now a part of positively changing the lives of three of our clients,” says Julie of the IPS program’s newest community partner. “She’s been very gracious about giving our clients a shot.”

Julie tried to connect with Francesca after seeing her Craigslist posting for a dishwasher last September, but she didn’t hear back from the pizzeria owner for a few months. Not finding success from Craigslist, Francesca eventually returned Julie’s email in January.

“I was curious about her email and the program, and frankly, I really needed to fill a dishwasher position, which isn’t always easy,” Francesca recalls. “You need to show up on time, work hard and be reliable.”

Francesca lucked out. The young man Julie recommended turned out to be an “exceptional employee,” who has since been promoted to food prep and other duties. He’s been working full time this summer but will reduce his hours when he returns to classes in the fall.

Entry-level positions hard to fill

Needing another dishwasher, Francesca again turned to Julie, who found her another client. Ashleigh’s first shift on a busy weekend night was a bit overwhelming but with onsite support from Julie on a subsequent shift, everything has since gone smoothly.

“I was so happy when Julie called and said she’d found a job for me,” says Ashleigh. “I’ve been there five months now and plan on staying. I just want to keep working and save up some money.”

Over the last month, Francesca – fully aware these employees may move on to jobs elsewhere – has hired a third client as a dishwasher. Julie’s clients now make up half of Il Castello’s staff.

Clients are hard-working, reliable

Why does she do it?

“Because people with mental health challenges are often overlooked and if I can give them a skillset that they can take somewhere else to improve their life, I’m happy to do it,” says the 27-year-old pizzeria owner, who has a background in public health research. “Ultimately, though, I’m like any other employer who is trying to find reliable workers who will show up and get the job done. But it’s exciting and inspiring knowing that we played a small part in helping some people get back on track.”

So go buy a pizza at Il Castello, says Julie, and support Francesca and her newest employees, many of them ongoing or past VCH clients.

Il Castello is at 119 E. 2^nd Ave. in North Vancouver.