Kamloops Employment

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Links to Employment

The Links to Employment is a supported employment program for participants at the Maverick Supportive Recovery and Career Development Centre, following completion of the Drug and Alcohol Recovery Program (DARP). The program integrates vocational support into Maverick’s recovery model, providing participants with individualized support as they explore employment, training, education, and volunteer opportunities.

A Vocational Counsellor and Peer Support Worker assist participants with vocational goals that align with their interests, strengths, and readiness. Employment support is incorporated into each participant’s recovery journey, creating opportunities to develop workplace skills, build confidence, and prepare for meaningful employment opportunities.

Support may include career exploration, employment planning, resume and cover letter development, interview preparation, job search assistance, and skills development. Staff also help provide connections to education or training opportunities, individualized job matching, workplace coaching, and ongoing support to maintain employment.

Peer Navigation Program (SUAP)

The Peer Navigation Program is delivered by ASK Wellness Society in partnership with Urban Matters through funding from Health Canada's Substance Use and Addictions Program (SUAP). The program creates meaningful employment opportunities for People with Lived and Living Experience (PWLLE) while strengthening access to peer-led supports for individuals navigating substance use, recovery, and other complex life challenges.

Open to community members with lived or living experience of substance use, the program combines employment, training, and mentorship. Intensive training prepares participants for roles as Peer Navigators with the aim of exploring careers in related roles across the Social Service sector.

Each cohort begins with a comprehensive six-week training program that builds the knowledge, practical skills, and confidence required to provide effective peer support. Following training, participants receive ongoing mentorship, professional development, and supported employment opportunities within local community organizations.

Peer Navigators draw on their lived experience to provide compassionate, relationship-based support, helping individuals access housing, health care, harm reduction services, recovery support, mental health resources, cultural services, and other community programs. By building trust and reducing barriers to care, Peer Navigators help individuals connect with the services and supports they need while fostering connection and hope.

Program staff support host organizations through learning circles and collaborative capacity building. They aim to have both Peer Navigators and hosted employers feeling well supported in their roles while strengthening peer-informed service delivery across the community.