WCAT Decision Number:
A2102416 (July 22, 2022)
worker loved the idea of this occupation because it would mean he would get to help others
and, because he is in a terrible space, it would make him feel better to help others. He was
interested in the occupation and, at first, based on the online information about the course he
enrolled in, he thought it would be a good fit for him. The course materials did not really mention
anything about having to lift anybody in wheelchairs. It only said that CSWs work with disabled
individuals and people with mental health issues.
[112] The worker explained that he completed his one-year CSW course online and it was easy. He
could just lay in bed for the most part, and his teacher understood. The course provider did not
want the students coming in and doing anything physical, and the course did not involve any
physical training. In order to transfer clients, doing CPR, and crisis intervention (including
physical holds, which he would not have to do in any event), he would watch videos online. As
he progressed in his education, he learned that CSWs are not social workers or anything like
that. Rather, they are basically community support workers in the sense that they help
individuals with basic stuff like living but, of course, they need to help people in wheelchairs.
With regard to skillset, he drew an analogy between journeyman carpenters, who know all the
intricate details of building houses, and labourers, who basically move lumber around and do
not know anything; the CSW occupation is analogous to the labourer occupation and the social
worker occupation requires a four-year social services degree.
[113] The worker does not believe that he can meet the physical requirements of the CSW
occupation. He said that he tried to apply for CSW positions but, if you cannot lift somebody out
of a wheelchair, you cannot find a job. Over and above transferring clients, he said that he
would have trouble with everything involved in the job. A lot of CSWs help clients “just do their
life,” which includes washing dishes, washing their clothes, and helping them shower, and he
does not believe he could do this. He said he has difficulty doing these things for himself, but he
is able to force himself to do them notwithstanding his chronic pain because he does not want to
get more depressed by living in an absolute trash pile.
[114] The worker described his mental state as “just terrible in general”. He said he went into
schooling assuming it would get better but, in reality, it has not. He wakes up every day with a
broken neck and a broken spine, and he cannot do anything. His injury has affected his
relationships, which have ended because his girlfriends do not want to be with a disabled
person, and he cannot go to his family’s cabin because the long drive to get there eats at his
mental state. Before his injury, he would work 12 hours a day, 6 days a week, and make his
own living. In contrast, for 4 years, he was basically told he was useless to anyone and to “go
be homeless.” He has had to deal with this every single day, no matter how good or bad his day
is, and, while he would love to say he is getting better, he is “damn near suicidal every day.” He
said that he will just be sitting or browsing on the computer, start thinking he wants to kill
himself, and mutter that he just wants to die. This has happened in the presence of his
stepbrother, with the VRC, and while he was taking his courses. When his stepbrother asked
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