Since 2001, EMBERS Ventures’ Vancouver has helped over 750 entrepreneurs build, grow and operate their own small businesses. This is done through three main programs: EMBERS Build A Business Program, EMBERS Grow A Business Program, and EMBERS EI Sponsored Self Employment Program.
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Before I came to EMBERS, I was a building manager for a hotel, where I took care of plumbing and general maintenance. I was living in a small town at the time, and I thought it would be easy to get a job in Vancouver. However, I found it really hard to find a job as an older man. I was staying at the Salvation Army shelter and struggling, but then I came into EMBERS and got a job right away. Now I’ve been with EMBERS for nine months.
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I was coping with burnout from the opioid crisis. I sat on the board of the Aboriginal Front Door and was volunteering for that organization for eight months when the crisis hit hard. I was part of the response, and it was very traumatic to lose so many people and to be in an environment where only the media, harm reduction communities, and the first responders were taking the crisis seriously. I witnessed the impact of the crisis on the first responders, and that too was traumatic.
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Two years ago, I suffered a motor vehicle accident. I had been cleared to start working for a couple hours a day. So Mike, my boyfriend, said why don’t you go to EMBERS? I told him I’m not going to EMBERS, because all they do is construction. But, I came in and did the orientation. They said we need a driver, so I started as a driver, and I guess I never left.
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