A pathway to hope, one panini at a time

For Working for Change Executive Director Anita Prasad, every time a customer comes to the new Out of This World Café (OTW) at 1051 Queen West they are not just supporting a new business, they are giving every employee who works there a pathway to hope.

“What sets us apart from every other business in the area is that we are a social enterprise run entirely by and for people with lived experience of mental health, addiction, trauma, including gender-based violence, homelessness and refugee experiences,” says Prasad. “And we don’t just employ survivors.  From the board level to the front line staff, there is an organizational mandate that every person we hire has lived experience.  Many of our employees began as patients of CAMH or participants of our programs and are now in key leadership positions in our organization.”

CAMH was already unique among hospitals in Canada in that all of its retail food services on hospital grounds are staffed exclusively by people with lived experience of mental illness including addiction.  For more than 15 years, CAMH has partnered with Working for Change, a non-profit organization that operates several social enterprises in Toronto.  By providing Working for Change with subsidized and stable rent at the new OTW Queen Street location, CAMH helps them weather the ups and downs of the retail food business.

“With the opening of this new location we’re thrilled to help provide an opportunity for OTW to reach new customers with its excellent food at reasonable prices, while also combatting poverty stigma,” said CAMH CEO Sarah Downey at the grand opening in August.” I encourage you to tell your friends about OTW and come back often knowing that you’re supporting a wonderful social enterprise that has a positive impact on so many lives.”

Out of This World Business Manager Anjali Rawat hopes the new OTW location at the heart of West Queen West can serve as a model for other social enterprises in Toronto.

“I’ve been through my own mental health challenges and it means everything to me to be able to facilitate an environment where people who are recovering from their own mental health struggles can flourish and find community and employment,” Rawat told CBC Toronto. “There can be barriers to employment when you have been through any number of the things our staff have been through. It’s very important to have businesses that are looking out for them.”

Working for Change Director of Food Services Matthew Neill has been working in the food service business since he worked as a dishwasher in university 20 years ago.  While he thrived in the highly competitive restaurant world for many years, he also struggled with mental illness and addiction for much of that time.  A desire to be part of a social justice enterprise led him to use his culinary skills at the Daily Bread Food Bank for six years until he came to Working for Change in 2022. Apart from trying to solve the problem of there being no good paninis within walking distance of CAMH, Neill is passionate about the dignity of work that OTW provides for all its staff.

“It’s empowering,” says Neill. “It gives a sense of value to one’s life.  It helps alleviate symptoms by keeping your mind and body and social networks active.  It’s also about sharing with this community who we are and what we are doing to better people’s lives.”

Prasad says that to cater to the diverse palate of West Queen West consumers, the OTW menu will feature rotating specials of cuisine from all over the world.  More importantly, she hopes it will show how social enterprises like OTW can thrive by also catering to “consumers with a conscience” who want their dollars to support the public good.

“There are more ethical consumers who care about what their dollars are going towards,” says Prasad. “The rate of unemployment for our community is staggering – up to 90 per cent for people living with severe mental illness. In that sense we see ourselves as not just serving our community, but performing an essential social service to this city.  We provide this supportive employment because the traditional workforce is inhospitable to people with varied needs and challenges.  Our staff want to work.  It’s not just about getting a paycheck but It’s also a pathway to hope and recovery. It’s about social inclusion.  It’s about feeling you matter and if you don’t show up for work some day you will be missed by people who are on the same journey as you who are all looking out for each other.”