Being out of work is stressful enough without sexual abuse flashbacks, posttraumatic stress disorder or an abusive partner.
That is why the S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Bridging Employment Program for Women was established three years ago - to help female abuse survivors rebuild their lives.
But the program comes to an end today, as the provincial government is merging employment programs throughout the province into its new Employment Program for B.C.
Lisa Sanders, who recently moved to Burnaby from Calgary, was one of the Bridging Employment Program's final 17 clients.
"These guys have the skills to help us women who are going through these traumatic and post-traumatic situations, way better than anyone could've at a regular employment program," she said. "Which is why we're sad that we don't get to do our real employment part here with these girls."
Sanders was sexually abused as a child and witnessed violence in her biological father's house, she said, and was later emotionally and physically abused by her children's father.
She has experienced more recent losses, as well - her mother passed away six weeks ago, and she was served with divorce papers three weeks ago, she added.
"My husband was a dream, it is just financial circumstances that brought us to where we are," she said, adding that the program has helped her cope with all the additional stress.
"These guys have been a godsend at this time, let me tell you," she said.
Sanders recently returned to the Lower Mainland after living in Calgary for 10 years and is looking for work in her field, marketing and promotion.
But she is facing many additional challenges, from the physical - an injury to her right hand, when she is right-hand dominant - to educational, as she is 46 and doesn't having a marketing degree as many younger applicants do.
"These guys have been helping me present myself based on things like my experience and the old-school way of doing things," she said of the program.
But she will not be able to finish the 26-week program - she'll be going on to another program as of next month.
"It is going to be really, really tough," Sanders said. "It is going to be a really hard transition for me."
Many of the clients need the stability of the program at this point in their lives, she added, saying it's been "completely essential."
"I don't think any of us would've been able to be walking and talking and smiling," she said.
Diana Delgado has been the Bridging Employment program manager since it began in January 2009.
She will continue working with S.U.C.C.E.S.S. but is mourning the loss of the program, which she doubts can be replicated in a merged format.
The province has merged provincially and federally funded programs within its new Employment Program of B.C., which is replacing the B.C. Employment Program on April 2.
The new program is a "one-stop shop" concept, according to Delgado.
"The people who got the contracts are super experienced, and I know they are trying their very best," Delgado said. "But the Bridging program was truly an amazing program."
She is concerned the new programs will not be intense or involved enough to address the needs of the clients her program served.
"The legacy of this program is the fact that many women were able to realize that there's life after, and they don't deserve to tolerate any type of abuse," she said. "The fact that they learn to break the cycle, especially the ones that have children - are able to say the violence stops here, and I can give a better life to my children, that is amazing."
Even those clients that could not complete the program were helped, she added.
"Even if they don't achieve the employment outcome, or they have to go back to school, they realize they can heal and there is life beyond whatever relationship they left," Delgado explained.
The Bridging Employment Program had two arms, one for aboriginal women, she said and received funding through the provincial Ministry of Social Development.
The Building Employment counsellors worked with more than 100 clients during the three years it ran, according to Delgado.
Now that the program is ending, the counsellors will help the final 17 clients transition to new programs during the month of April.
"Our job is not done until they are all connected at the other end," Delgado said.
The Ministry of Social Development was not able to set up an interview or provide a statement regarding the program changes before deadline.
