#OneEastToronto – Meet Alhamin Animashaun

#OneEastToronto shares the faces of East Toronto Health Partners (ETHP), a group of more than 100 community, primary care, home care, hospital and social services organizations in East Toronto working together with community members to better connect local care and services. 

Meet Alhamin Animashaun, Member of WoodGreen Community Services’ Youth Advisory Council and Personal Support Worker, MGH2Home Program. 

“When I moved to Toronto five years ago as a refugee claimant from Nigeria, I had some difficult times and needed counselling support. During a session at WoodGreen Community Services on the Danforth, I learned about the Toronto East Youth Wellness Hub. At the time I didn’t have anywhere to go after school and that hub became my place. I felt comfortable and met other youth who had similar experiences to mine. 

The facilitators of that program helped me and motivated me. They told me about the Youth Advisory Council, a group of youth who contribute feedback to the hub, and encouraged me to participate. I decided to give it a try. I wanted to share some of the positivity I had received and build unity among other youth in the community. Being part of the Youth Advisory Council is my way of giving back for all the hub has done for me. I feel very honoured to be a part of it and hope I can be a source of motivation for others like me. 

I was studying to be an engineer when I started going to the hub, but partway through my studies, I decided to become a Personal Support Worker (PSW) instead. The work of engineers is really important, of course, but I received so much support from social workers, nurses and other healthcare workers that I decided I wanted to be a positive force in the lives of other people in the way they had been for me.  

Now I’m working as a PSW in the MGH2Home Program while also studying to become a nurse. MGH2Home is an enhanced care program from East Toronto Health Partners (ETHP) that supports adults with higher needs to safely transition from Michael Garron Hospital (MGH) to home. MGH2Home clients receive care from a multidisciplinary team of personal support workers, nurses, occupational therapists and others, who are all from ETHP member organizations – WoodGreen, VHA Home HealthCare and Spectrum Health Care – working collaboratively together to support a client’s needs. 

I really enjoy what I’m doing. It feels fulfilling to provide care to people in the comfort of their home. We see a lot of improvements thanks to the interprofessional care we’re able to provide. And being a PSW gives me a lot of clinical experience that I can apply to my nursing training as well. I’m interested in focusing on community nursing when I complete my studies. Helping people in the community will always have a special place in my heart.”