At the beginning of her support-work career, Makayla Pegg felt optimistic about the work she was doing. “A lot of newer people were very young then. Fresh out of school, very idealistic, looking for an opportunity to better what they were seeing in the world,” she says.
Pegg started her career in Northern Ontario, at a residential living centre for youth with dual diagnosis, commonly referred to as “high-acuity” patients. Many of the youth were in the foster care system. Some were unable to live with foster parents because of their behavioural needs. Her first foray into the world of support work after college saw her facing an extremely intense, yet all too common, work environment. Violence against support workers was common, staffing was minimal, hours were long. “We were doing seven-on, seven-off continentals, so 12-hour shifts, 84 hours every two weeks,” Pegg says. “Frequently, you’d see staff come in for their 12 hours and get asked to stay for a night shift because one of the two staff would call out. So you’d see staff pulling 24-hour, 36-hour shifts.”
Pegg was in the role for only six months before eventually looking for work in London, closer to her family, but in that time saw the volatile work environment trigger a rapid staff turnover. “I was kicked across the living room in my six months there – I had a couple of friends sustain traumatic brain injuries while working there,” she says. “We were working for $17 an hour.”