Career Development Services

Career Development Services (CDS) is an agency governed by the Trail Association for Community Living since 2006.

Since 1989, CDS staff have been providing support to individuals with significant barriers living within the Greater Trail communities. CDS started out by providing employment supports that respected the individual’s abilities and interests working strictly to provide these supports to those meeting the Community Living BC eligibility criteria.

Today CDS has grown to over 50 employees and offers the following programs and services:

• Getting to Home: Addressing Homelessness in Greater Trail program (GTH);
• Customized/Supported Employment Programs;
• 1:1 Outreach & Community Inclusion support services;
• La Nina Extreme Cold Weather Shelter;

Operation and Management of 5 Social Enterprise Businesses:

• Thrifty Treasures Thrift Store
• CDS Property Maintenance Contracts
• GYRO & Haley Park concession stands
• City of Trail Outdoor Landscaping/Snow Removal Crew

What CDS Does

Employment

CDS provides employment supports through a variety of different contracts that all have one common goal – to assist individuals with varying abilities to reach their identified employment goals that build on their unique skills and abilities. CDS offers a wider range of services both to individuals who meet the criteria for services through Community Living BC as well as those with any type of barrier to employment.

CDS is a contractor with Community Living BC to provide Supported/Customized employment services.

Getting to Home Homeless Program

In the context of delivering employment services CDS recognizes that a huge factor in individuals being able to maintain their employment is the fact that many are struggling with housing issues. In 2012 CDS worked on a partnership with the Trail Skills Centre to develop a program called “Getting to Home: Addressing Homelessness in Greater Trail (GTH)” which allowed CDS to dedicate staff and resources to this specific issue. The initial funding received was through the Homeless Partnering Strategy this funding provided the development and inauguration of the program.

Now in its 6th year, the GTH program continues to grow with funding from sources, such as the Homeless Partnering Strategy, local municipal governments, Teck, United Way and the Columbia Basin Trust. CDS receives no ongoing core funding for this program and therefore CDS is looking at developing partnerships and sustainable funding opportunities to ensure the success of this program moving forward.

La Nina Cold Weather Shelter

In addition to the Getting to Home Program CDS has operated the seasonal La Nina Cold Weather Shelter in Trail since 2012 from 9:00 pm to 8:00 am from November through March. This season CDS has negotiated a contract to operate the shelter providing supports to individuals that are homeless as a 24 hour a day, 7 days per week shelter from November through March. Each morning the GTH housing facilitator meets with shelter guests to develop a housing needs plan and assist them to identify the supports they will require to be successful in reaching their housing goals.

Outreach & Community Inclusion Individualized Support

Currently CDS is contracted with Community Living BC to provide around 400 hours per week of 1:1 outreach/community inclusion services to individuals with complex needs living independently in the community. This includes individuals that have a medical diagnosis of FASD, Developmental Disability and/or Autism and experience deficits in their adaptive functioning skills may meet the criteria for support.

Individuals supported within this program often struggle with maintaining their housing as well as employment in the community. They require very unique and specific supports in order to complete daily living tasks and also to be safe in their community as they are at a high risk of being taken advantage of financially, physically and emotionally.

Within our outreach program CDS provides a variety of groups to assist individuals to build their skills while also having the opportunity to socialize with their peers.

Trail Youth Centre

TACL took over the Trail Youth Centre in March 2018 and CDS has been busy with this transition by connecting with the youth that utilize the centre. CDS will also be busy re-establishing networks with other youth support providers to ensure strong collaboration is taking place as the centre moves forward under CDS Management.