When Maggie Griffin applied for a job at Parkdale Green Thumb Enterprises nine years ago, her doctor cautioned her it would never work.
“He said, ‘You won’t be able to do that. The stress will be too high,’” says Griffin. “If you’re involved in the mental health system, your doctor will quite often say you can’t work. And it’s not true — it’s really not true.”
Griffin is living proof. Today, she manages the Green Thumb project, a social enterprise business. The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health refers some, but not all, of Green Thumb’s employees.
“With all of the stigma that comes with mental illness, many people get the message that this is it — don’t expect a lot out of your life,” says Dr. Sean Kidd, a CAMH researcher.
Kidd says business initiatives such as Green Thumb represent a shift in the way mental illness is treated.
