Sarah George

I have worked for Y’s Owl since March 2019. In my time here, I have moved from job coaching in the Owl Employment Program, to now working with Suzanne (Director of Programs), as an assistant in organizing and implementing new Autism programs through The Owl Café. In addition, I continue to job coach individuals at the café and our social enterprise Wee Bee’s and work 1:1 with members in the foundations program on topics such as building daily living skills and job searching.

I started my career at Y’s Owl Maclure in November 2017 on the outreach team (now SIL) where I found my calling working with members in the community with Dual diagnosis. I provide support in daily living tasks such as grocery shopping, budgeting, stress management, future planning, health management and more. My favorite thing about our members is their own unique personalities and how they all open their world to me through their eyes.

Y’s Owl has been a big part of my life as I have been a part of Y’s Owl Maclure for 5 years now. Working with great staff and the Y’s Owl members have really been eye opening to me. I currently do 1:1 life and employment coaching for individuals who need support through the Foundations program. The best part of my job is the strong relationships you build with the individuals over time. Getting to see people achieve their goals and try new things while working in a group setting is something I can look back on years from now and be proud of.

I’ve worked at Y’s Owl since early 2018 as a placement student at The Owl Cafe, until I was hired on full-time in April 2018. I was initially drawn to this social enterprise as it gave young people with autism the opportunity to develop their social and employment skills in a safe and practical setting. I now assist in the operation of another social enterprise, Wee Bee Children’s Shop in Almonte. I work along-side the individuals I support to teach them employment skills and more specifically, the operation basics of running our store. My favourite thing about the individuals we support is their honesty and curiosity.

I have been working for Y’s Owl Maclure for almost 10 Years now. Over the past 10 years I have had the opportunity to experience different roles within the agency that have lead me to the Foundations team working as a Foundations Support Worker. I have been active in this role for over 5 years now. Foundations, to me, is the building blocks towards a healthy independent lifestyle including many skills that enable successful employment experiences as well as fostering development towards being an independent member of the community. I love being a positive influence and being able to take a person centered approach to help individuals achieve their life goals.

I started working at Y’s Owl Maclure (when it was just K.C Maclure Centre) in 1991, right after completing my Bachelors of Social Science at University of Ottawa. I started in the recreation and leisure program, and then supported employment. Presently I have found my calling in the Outreach program, now called SIL. I provide person-centered assistance to individuals residing independently in the community. I am a firm believer that with the right supports, anyone can thrive. As a result my passion is working with those individuals with a Dual Diagnosis that tend to ‘fall through the cracks,’ and have previously been deemed difficult to serve by others.