How do you find a job when you have trouble looking someone in the eye, talking on the phone or even leaving your house? It’s a mountain of anxiety that a growing number of young adults are trying to overcome as they seek help from Quebec’s youth employment centres (CJE). Testimonials.
At CJE Thérèse-de-Blainville, Jérôme, Samuel and Noah are part of a group returning from a game of mini-golf played on a hot, sunny day.
“It may seem like a trivial activity, but it allows us to create bonds, encourage each other, and have relaxed conversations with young people,” explains speaker Marie-Josée Rochon.
A few months ago, Noah, 20, would never have participated in such a social exercise. Nor would he have granted an interview to Duty.
“I had just moved back in with my mother and I wasn’t doing anything. I wasn’t going out, I wasn’t walking either. I was locked in my room with my sister and we were watching series. Now, I walk to come here, three times a week,” says Noah, who, like the other young people, prefers not to give his full name to avoid harming his employment prospects.
It was Noah’s mother who suggested he ask for help from the CJE. “The first month, I didn’t come to the activities. I wanted to, but I was too embarrassed, I didn’t know anyone. The second month, I finished an activity and I thought it was good. I did others,” he continues.
Self-esteem, it all starts from there. I had a nice resume. The welfare people didn’t understand why I didn’t have a job.
These activities range from making soaps or snacks to tending a community garden, meditating, or participating in an LGBTQ+ support group. The goal is to develop skills and confidence in one’s ability to accomplish things.
“Self-esteem, it all starts there,” says Jérôme, who also went through a period during the pandemic when he no longer felt able to leave his house. “I had a great resume. The welfare people didn’t understand why I didn’t have a job,” he says. “I was a bit paralyzed, with addictions, anxiety, depression. You can’t find yourself a job when you have everything melting pot of unresolved problems.”
At the CJE, Jérôme found a group of young adults who were experiencing the same problems as him. “I don’t think there’s a young person who comes here who isn’t anxious,” says the thirty-year-old.
He made “lifelong friends” there, which helped bring him out of his shell. He got along particularly well with Samuel, with whom he goes rock climbing and plays video games.
“When Samuel arrived here, he hid behind a big beard, a cap, a hood and he looked at the ground. Now, he is a new person, on a personal and professional level, capable of entering into relationships,” reports social worker Olivier Shareck.
Samuel is now ready to start a vocational studies diploma. Noah has taken a career path. He is aiming for a career in either thanatology or social work.
Young people are under construction. If they have not been in contact with others for two years, it makes a difference in the development of the brain, learning to be in relationships, and also the construction of oneself.
A growing problem
Leaders of several CJEs are seeing an increase in the number of young people struggling with significant mental health problems, particularly social anxiety.
“There are a lot of them, of different ages and levels of education,” says Guylaine Turpin, general director of CJE Saint-Hubert. “Having to call, talk, sell themselves to an employer, they’re not used to it. You can’t text a future employer.”
According to Statistics Canada, cases of generalized anxiety disorder and social phobia more than doubled between 2012 and 2022, with young people aged 15 to 24 being the most affected.
Nathalie Parent, psychologist, author and speaker, points out that communication among young people has been largely done through social networks in recent years. This could make in-person social relationships more difficult for those who already have shy personality traits. Furthermore, in the context of small families, young people are possibly less exposed to interpersonal challenges, she points out.
Finally, the lockdown imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to have made the problem worse, Mr.me Parent, since many people have had to relearn how to interact with others.
“Young people are under construction. If they have not been in contact with others for two years, it makes a difference in the development of the brain, learning to be in relationships, and also in the construction of oneself,” explains the psychologist.
Longer interventions
“The pandemic has hurt young people,” also says François Girouard, general director of CJE L’Assomption. “Everything surrounding anxiety has exploded. Interventions are longer.”
Indeed, changes do not happen overnight. At the CJE Thérèse-de-Blainville, many young people, including Jérôme, Samuel and Noah, have benefited from more than 100 hours of services, or even several hundred hours. However, Emploi-Québec recognizes a maximum of 75 hours for each of the young people registered, denounce the CJE workers. In other words, Services Québec considers that they have been sufficiently helped and closes their file, which does not allow the organization to obtain funding for all the hours spent supporting these young people.
“It’s not true that after five weeks at 15 hours a week, they’ve necessarily solved all their problems and can go to work,” laments the general director, Nathalie Lachance, whose organization continues to help them despite financial difficulties. Her team refuses to abandon young people before their process is complete.
“If the issues are too serious and take too much time, we are told that we should refer them to psychosocial services,” reports François Girouard. However, since access to mental health services is often a challenge, he fears that these young people will be left to their own devices. “We want to avoid the revolving door syndrome,” he adds.
According to Statistics Canada, only half of Canadians with a mental health disorder had received professional help in 2022.