Community Living BC is on a mission to improve lives

More than a few of the approximately 750 employees of Community Living BC (CLBC) have a loved one receiving services from the provincial Crown agency or are recipients themselves. And that can only be a good thing for the organization: these are the people most likely to “get” its mission-driven culture.

“We have that intrinsic value proposition,” says Karen Mackay, vice-president, people and culture. “Because we were born out of a grassroots movement primarily relating to de-institutionalization, we haven’t forgotten our roots.”

CLBC provides funding and support to adults with developmental disabilities, as well as autism spectrum disorder and fetal alcohol syndrome disorder. It strives to place the people it serves and their families at the centre of decision-making around what support they receive, giving them the greatest possible autonomy to potentially live in a home of their own, obtain higher learning and develop careers. It’s about giving people with disabilities the opportunity to lead a full and fulfilling life that most of society takes for granted.

Indeed, that mission is so important that every new hire, whether a facilitator to support planning with the individuals and families CLBC serves or an IT technician at head office, goes through a unique, six-part onboarding process known as Our Common Purpose. It focuses not so much on what CLBC does or how but why.

“Our Common Purpose demonstrates to each other that we’re all in it for the same reason,” Mackay says.

Jessica Humphrey is one of those employees personally invested in CLBC’s mission. She first joined the agency 15 years ago as part of her fourth-year practicum towards a degree in social work. CLBC had offered a practicum placement specifically for someone like her, the mother of a child with a disability, to bring a family perspective to its service delivery.

“It was a pretty incredible opportunity to do a placement as a young mom with an organization that was just starting out on its own journey,” Humphrey says. “I was able to bring my ideas, challenges and barriers. What struck me about CLBC from the beginning, and why I stay, was their commitment to stay connected to the perspective and lived experience of the people that they’re serving.”

Today Humphrey serves as community engagement manager. And the support that her daughter, now 23, receives has enabled her to live with support in her own apartment, study at the University of Victoria and get a summer job.

CLBC has taken the same thoughtful approach to its employee offering. Staff can access the LifeSpeak wellness hub through CLBC’s portal, as well as attend monthly wellness workshops. There’s a maternity and parental leave salary top-up of up to 85%. Most full-time positions are eligible for earned time off or flex days. And the Deferred Salary Leave Program enables workers to save up and continue getting paid while taking a sabbatical.

The same goes for career development. “We offer many opportunities for temporary assignments internally,” Mackay notes, for employees to acquire new skills or as a prelude to a permanent move. CLBC reimburses 75 per cent of costs related to any degree or diploma program, up to $3,000 a year. If it’s directly related to their work, the coverage rises to 100 per cent, plus paid time off to attend off-site training.

But the biggest reward of working at CLBC lies in delivering on the organization’s promise. “I’ve seen colleagues get the most out of their work when they’re able to share in the positive stories that their work results in,” Humphrey says. “The work that we do is innovative. It’s new. You’re breaking new ground.”

This article appeared in the magazine announcing this year's BC’s Top Employers winners, published February 11, 2025 in the Vancouver Sun. This article was prepared with the financial support of the employer, which reviewed but did not write its contents.