Eric’s first temp job with the Casual Labour Pool @viccoolaid was seven years ago, and it’s been a happy match ever since. Landscaping, laying a rug, setting up a dog show – it all puts money in his pocket and keeps him out of the stretches of homelessness that have been part of his life as recently as 2024. Unlike the private temp services, Cool Aid doesn’t take a cut, so the $20-30/hour wage that Eric earns on his jobs is all his, negotiated between Cool Aid and the employer and then paid straight to him at the end of the work day. “The work is good, but what you’ve really got to understand is the customer. I’ve got a job coming up where the lady is going to be working alongside me every day. You need to understand the customer, and help them feel comfortable.” Eric incurred multiple brain injuries through a rough childhood, and was struggling with a lot of health problems when he moved from Calgary to Victoria in 2018 to support his grandmother. He’d worked 10 years with an Edmonton oil company and another 10 with Calgary Transit, but health issues from the brain injuries and nerve damage caught up with him. But he still knows how to put in a hard day’s work. “What I’d love is enough work to plan a week – someone who wants me to work two days a week, say,” says Eric.