“…But for Mr. Pendenque, who just turned 50, his ‘lived experiences’ have become an invaluable asset in his job with a social services organization in Toronto, where he now helps other people facing similar struggles.

They’re also what made him an ideal candidate for the Community Health and Social Medicine (CHASM) care worker program, an innovative new college certification course offered by the University Health Network’s Michener Institute, Canada’s only postsecondary institution devoted to health sciences education.

The course aims to provide a formal credentialing pathway for people such as Mr. Pendenque: community health workers who’ve walked in their clients’ shoes and now want to help them access a health care system that was never designed with the most marginalized in mind.”