A Story of Success: How Supported Employment Helped Nicholas Pursue a Career in Counseling

Cascadia’s Supported Employment Team – which helps clients identify career opportunities, apply for jobs, and maintain employment – continues their excellent success connecting people with job opportunities that fit their skills and long-term goals.

“Supported employment has been a vital service at Cascadia for years. Gaining employment provides a sense of worth and accomplishment, and yields benefits that adds to a person’s recovery journey. It’s a powerful part of what we do here at Cascadia,” said Derald Walker, Cascadia’s President and CEO and a consistent advocate for the value of supported employment services.

Nicholas is one of many clients to have found success with Cascadia’s Supported Employment program. Learn more about his journey below:

Nicholas: I started Supported Employment in 2022. I was in need of figuring out ways to access internships and get my foot in the door. Chris Poor helped me apply for a Peer Mentor Program, which was a major success. Without Chris Poor, I probably would have lost hope, and not have been able to see a way forward.

After Chris lit the fire for my successful internship position as a peer, I decided to give it another shot at taking my exam to become licensed in my field. Chris taught me that I was capable, and that it was just my poor coping mechanisms that were getting in the way of my studies. Chris didn’t instill fear or threats of punishment; rather, he saw the goodness in my character and taught me to utilize the values I already had inside of me.

With Chris’s grace toward my mistakes and utmost faith in my pursuits, I enrolled in a study program for Occupational Therapy. With sobriety under my belt and a determination from others to not give up, I took the national licensing exam for a fourth time, finally bringing closure to the journey I had started and obtaining my license as a Doctor of Occupational Therapy.

Not once did Chris cast shame in my direction. He was a major motivation throughout my whole journey. From the beginning, he took interest in my hobbies and genuine artistic personality, even going out of his way to accompany me to an art show to make sure that I was safe and home within my designated hours.

I owe Chris more than my financial and societal wellbeing; I also owe him my warmth as a fellow human to see past my “guilty, except for the insanity” label. When I asked Chris if he had any loved ones who experienced their own form of trauma or shadows, Chris opened up and shared some of his family’s lived experience. He got down on my level and shared that it was possible to live a life of redemption, no matter how far down the dark path someone has journeyed.

Chris taught me mindfulness and showed me compassion beyond his title as employment specialist. He is someone I can look up to and confide in about life stressors. He built a deeper sense of trust for me within the Cascadia community.

I am a Qualified Mental Health Practitioner and Mental Health Counselor for Central City Concern of Portland. I have my Doctor of Occupational Therapy from Pacific University, and my BS in Arts & Letters from Portland State University.

I love helping to build community and give people hope, the same hope I was given when I needed it most. I also have my peer support certification, and while I do not act as a peer support specialist in my official role of providing treatment, my lived experience still informs my cultural humility around the barriers and stigmas that the homeless population face.

I am able to utilize boundaries, while still maintaining my compassionate sense of humanity around universal struggle. We all face struggles in life or know people who are close to us in pain, regardless of mental health diagnosis, race, status, gender, or the way we love.

I have gained a deeper sense of responsibility beyond myself. I have grown tremendously as a skilled professional therapist, but also in my personal life. I have been able to work on budgeting skills with Chris and allocate funds toward what is most important to me, like buying my first electronic keyboard and a vehicle I am privileged to drive.

I have more financial freedom, but I also have a deeper sense of worth because I have been given a chance to shine, despite my shortcomings and mistakes. I have a phenomenal cast of co-workers and the best supervisor I could have ever asked for. I am treated with transparency and respect, and I am able to work toward my higher potential.

I want to grow as much as I can as a therapist. It will take some time, but after some years at Central City Concern, I also want to have a private practice.

Mental health is important to everyone, not just those who are ill. We must treat our bio-psycho-social selves with holistic care that honors culture, volition, freedom, and autonomy. We mustn’t lead with fear and blame for societal problems that express themselves through individual circumstance, that of poverty and greed, pain and historic trauma.

[I would like] to help those around me reach their own sense of wellbeing!