Boyle Street launches website to connect workers with employers

Boyle Street Ventures has launched a new website to employ clients who may not have all the necessary tools to hold down a job.

It's something they've done in person over the past few years, but moving online with Hire Good amps up their operations. 

Hire Good is a mentorship program where a mentor is matched with a community member for every job. The goal is to give people experience so they can hit the formal job market running. The program helps people build customer service and social skills.

Customers can book someone online to get different tasks done, including moving and junk removal. This creates an opportunity to give people in the program a job with a living wage, which can help lift them out of poverty.

As the manager of Boyle Street Ventures, Jodi Phelan Zago looks after moving, junk removal, and cleaning services. There are 50 people in the program right now. Zago said they are hoping to double the number this year.

Compared to other companies, there's no difference in service quality, she said.

"Even though we are engaging with community members and stuff like that, they're trained for these jobs, so you expect the service is going to be the same as any business," Zago said.

The program isn't limited to moving or junk removal. Those in the program can also tackle other tasks including lawn care, pressure washing, dog walking, cat walking — "you name it," said Zago.

A bonus for Zago is if the initiative can keep youth off the street. 

"We don't want kids coming back to Boyle Street," she said. "We want to get them working. Once they're getting their paychecks, they're seeing what they can have. They're not going to be homeless … They're moving up and over."

Dangerous elements

Mentors and workers are trained to handle "sticky situations" including mental health issues, domestic violence, and drugs. Sometimes it involves diffusing tense situations; other times, they may have to suit up in hazmat gear and masks. Confrontational or volatile situations arise three to four times a week, said Zago.

"We don't know when you're picking up a couch that there could be a needle there, we could be touching fentanyl, we could be doing anything like that," Zago said.

Patience and sensitivity are key, she added.

"We have that sensitivity towards people that they may have those barriers to employment: reading, writing skills," Zago said. "Maybe they don't have the confidence or social skills. So that's why we have the mentorship program so we can be there and guide a person."

'A complete 180'

The initiative is about investing in the community to generate success stories, like Mary Benoit's, Zago said.

The 31-year-old former animal health technician was homeless for a year in Edmonton after she left an abusive relationship.

Now, Benoit is one of the mentors, working as a crew lead for Boyle Street Ventures, helping people who are in the position she was in.

"It's basically a complete 180," she said.

When Benoit had nowhere else to go, she heard of Boyle Street's services and chose to better herself.

"I basically got employment, and then from the employment, then I was able to get housing because then I had the available funds, and then it just kind of blossomed from there," she said.  

Benoit got her driver's licence and worked up to owning a vehicle — and now, also has a horse.

For the mentor, it's rewarding to help people through different life transitions.

"Going from where I was and then helping people in the same situation, it just feels good," she said.

Zago said she gets chills thinking about Benoit's story.

"She just kind of keeps getting better and better all the time," she said. "I'm so proud of her."

"We want to see more of these success stories."