I can't work yet, what should I do?

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Hello everyone, so I've been out of school since October still recovering from a burnout and just trying to meet the basics of life.

I don't have a job yet and I'm worried that if I get too stressed I'll become suicidal again and not be able to control my emotions.

I'm on welfare and starting to see I need more money.

Maybe try to sell your art online?

It's really not a way to make a living

It's not...but it can supplement whatever benefits you are receiving.

Would some sort of physical labor be suitable for you?

It's not really the labour that stresses me out I think it's mostly just being out of my comfort zone

Many people supplement their benefits with little side businesses. The government really doesn't mind, as long as your income doesn't exceed a certain amount.

Last edited by kraftiekortie on 25 May 2016, 8:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Do you have an office of Vocational Rehabilitation in Canada? I will ask my counselor if she knows if you guys have that or something similar under a different name. They will be able to help you get work that you are able to do and keep it.

Last edited by skibum on 25 May 2016, 8:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Are you on standard welfare or disability benefits?

If you're not able to work and neither you nor your doctor/therapist sees that changing for a while, you might qualify for disability benefits.

The only way to know for sure if you are ready to work is to try working.... but if it would be any easier you could try volunteer work first. Or as a sort of in-between maybe try getting involved in another activity that takes you outside of your comfort zone on a regular basis, to see how you handle it.

Another idea for work is to see if you can do odd jobs for people -- stuff like yardwork or walking someone's dog. You could ask friends and family to sort of spread the word that you are looking for little jobs you can do to earn a bit of money.

The federal government also has some good programs for youth and some specifically for first nations youth, so that's maybe something to research -- especially since some of them involve paid training.

In every province/territory in Canada there is some sort of vocational support/rehabilitation service run by the province -- which ministry runs it and the scope of their services differs depending on what province/territory you live in. (Whichever ministry runs the income support program may or may not be the same as the one that does vocational support/rehab services.)

The federal government runs programs to support job creation and employment, and has specific programs for minority groups like youth, first nations people, and those with disabilities. A lot of those programs are more about funding than anything else -- the government doesn't actually implement them directly. The federal government also runs the Canada Pension Plan (federal disability benefit -- similar to SSDI) and Employment Insurance (similar to SSI, except you only ever qualify if you, personally, have worked and you can only be on EI for about a year), which are totally separate from provincial benefits programs.

There are also lots of non-governmental (generally not-for-profit) social services agencies that have vocational rehabilitation programs (they are pretty much always funded by the government, at least partially -- federal government, provincial government, or both) and that implement specific federal programs.

Good to know. My OVR where I live in the US, has been very helpful to me. Hopefully a similar office can help ZB as well.

Two words: cam girl.

You need to look good for that.