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Mission Possible jobs for new ‘clean team’ in Newton INSIDE BIA partners with Vancouver organization to hire people who face challenges Tom Zillich
A new “Clean Team” has been hired in Newton in a partnership between the area BIA and Mission Possible, a Vancouver-based organization that aims to “transform lives through meaningful work.” Hired for the job are people facing homelessness, poverty, substance use, mental illness and other barriers to employment, to help them “discover a renewed sense of confidence, opportunity and lasting change.” In July the new Clean Team began their work in Newton Town Centre, home to nearly 530 businesses and property owners of Newton Business Improvement Association. “So far, so good,” team member Abhishek said with a smile. “Some places are really clean and others have some garbage and stuff, but I’m doing my best to clean it up every week, getting it done.” Mission Possible isn’t new to Surrey, but is to the BIA district in Newton, where longtime trash collector Kenneth Green retired in June. That’s when the BIA partnered with the Vancouver organization to employ its Clean Team. “We’ve been doing work in Surrey for other customers, private customers, but this
Mission Possible employees Abhishek and Conslata are members of the new Clean Team program in Newton. (Photo: Tom Zillich) is our first time working with this BIA,” noted Matthew Smedley, executive director of Mission Possible. “We run a social enterprise that does property maintenance work, so lots of property cleaning like pressure washing, graffiti removal, landscaping, those kinds of things, property upkeep,” he added. “The people hired, they’re really on a journey back to permanent employment. They’re folks who have been excluded from work opportunities due to challenges they’ve been facing, and they’re trying to move their lives forward. Mission Impossible offers training, workshops being the key part of that, but then there’s on-the-job training as well.”
Launched as a faith-based humanitarian agency in 1992, Mission Possible has evolved into “a full-scope community economic development agency” — a charity focused on creating lasting change rather than exclusively meeting basic needs, according to its website. “Our full team, right now we’ve got about 30 folks who are working in our social enterprises as our permanent team, and then we’ve got about 90 folks who are working with us on a part-time transitional basis,” Smedley reported. With the new program in Newton, the organization is focused on hiring people in Surrey for the cleanup work, including
Abhishek and Conslata. “I just moved to Surrey about two weeks ago. I like it,” Conslata said. They wear MP Maintenance hats, wear orange safety vests and drive in a pickup truck with mpmaintenance.ca printed on the side. “Over 1,200 folks last year came in our doors seeking an employment opportunity,” Smedley said. “We were able to start 148 people, and the goal for us is really to grow those opportunities, to have more jobs, to have more people come in and get started with us, and then access permanent work.” It’s a meaningful service, he said, “and for folks who are moving back into employment, doing work where they’re seeing the impact, cleaning up litter off the streets and beautifying a place, there’s a lot of pride that comes with that, right? They see the work and what they’re accomplishing, they’re becoming a contributor to the community, and those are really important things.” Smedley said there’s a perception that people experiencing poverty and other challenges don’t want to work, and that’s not the case. “People want an opportunity but sometimes they just aren’t able to get their foot in the door to actually get a job,” he explained. “You know, it’s competitive in the workplace and if you’ve been out of work for years and you’ve been excluded because of different challenges you’re facing, getting a start is really difficult. So Mission Impossible is really about having a starting place for people to come in, get support, grow their confidence and their skills, and be able to transition into permanent work outside of our organization.”
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ADDING COLOUR Jag Nagra added vibrant new mural art to a Newton Athletic Park building – and built community in the process. see page B2 GOING GLOBAL Discover Surrey has opened a new office in Newton as it works to market the city worldwide. see page B3 GOLF SUCCESS A Newton DJ’s charity golf tournament is going strong in support of Make-A-Wish Canada’s BC and Yukon chapter. see page B4 ACROSS GENERATIONS A new playschool in Newton unites three generations in a ‘groundbreaking’ new model. see page B5 COMMUNITY BUILDING The Arts Council of Surrey hosted a series of community markets at Newton Cultural Centre over the summer. see page B6