Michael works as a courier in the Lower Mainland. His daily duties include handling and processing packages in a depot, and then delivering them to local businesses and residences.

He is hearing impaired, which can be a challenge in a job that involves both dealing with customers and having to be aware of your surroundings.

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Karen started a part-time job as an administrator at her church in Vancouver. She oversees office duties, like replying to emails, answering the phones, organizing weekly worship services, and coordinating the weekly newsletter. She also deals with the different rental users of the building.

However, her workday is made harder by her disability. Since birth, Karen has lived with spastic diplegia, a form of cerebral palsy, which affects her speech, coordination, muscle dexterity, balance, and mobility.

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Zeina has operated a successful project management consulting business for over a decade. Currently working from her home in Burnaby, she spends much of her time on the computer and in conference calls with various clients.

However, the work takes a toll on Zeina.

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Sherry is working hard towards gaining employment, studying for an accounting and bookkeeping course.

But she was finding it hard to put the hours in she needed to study with the pain she was feeling.

“I have degenerative disk disease in the top seven disks of my spine, plus a damaged rotator cuff,” she says from Kelowna.

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Susan suffered a work-related injury at an assembly plant in 1989. As a result, she has a variety of conditions including De Quervain Syndrome, Epicondylitis, and Fibromyalgia. This affects her from the neck down — notably in the hands where her fingers will cramp while holding objects, causing her to drop them and lose feeling from the neck down.

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Jeremy often had to cut his work days short because of chronic pain.

“I was in that situation because of a chronic severe neck and back pain. I did not have an ergonomic computer station, and it was causing me pain so much I had to just stop doing what I was doing,” he shares. “[My] condition limits me from walking, lifting, sitting too long at one time.”

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With over 35 years in the construction industry, John has put in a lot of years of hard work. But after spending much of that time on noisy job sites, John’s hearing isn’t what it used to be.

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New hearing aids have made a world of difference in Jason’s life.

“I am now able to continue working because of the new hearing aids the Assistive Technology Services program has helped me with,” he says.

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Douglas is a community administrator for a number of mobile home communities in Surrey, handling everything from answering calls to compiling data for new residents to collecting rent.

It’s a lot of work and Douglas faced a number of barriers that made his work tougher.

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Nicole volunteers her time serving as a health coach and leader for workshops that help people with chronic pain — a subject close to her heart.

“I have an autoimmune condition that affects my spine and peripheral joints including neck, arms, and wrists. So I can’t sit for long and use a keyboard to type. That makes it tough to take notes and use a computer for assignments,” she explains.

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