for people like Rick

"My name is Rick and I live at a Mary Centre residence in Toronto. I have been here since 2003.

Before coming to Mary Centre, I was with my Dad, my brothers and sister. This is the first time I have been on my own and I am 41 years old.

After moving into my new apartment, I got my first job through Project Work. I work at Dominion as a courtesy clerk. I work lots of hours, doing carry-outs, returning items back to their shelves, cleaning up spills trying to help out my co-workers and stuff like that. I even got a certificate saying that I am a good worker.

For fun, I like to play pool, cycle and join in all the special activities here at the building. I even have gone to the Famous PEOPLE Players theatre to see the shows.

I am learning to live on my own by following the rules, and learning how to write cheques to pay for my telephone and cable TV as well as how to cook different dishes. I get help from my personal support worker.

It is a nice building to live in and I will probably stay here for a long time."