The Lived and Living Experience Employment Grant, led by Community Action Initiative with funding from the Vancouver Foundation, is an opportunity for community-based organizations (CBOs) in British Columbia to create meaningful employment opportunities for people with lived and living experience (PWLLE) of mental illness and/or substance use.
The purpose of the grant is to build organizational and system readiness and to embed lived experience as a valued and recognized form of expertise in the workplace.
This funding opportunity also seeks to expand the integration of PWLLE beyond traditional roles within the mental health and substance use sectors into other non-profit spaces including, but not limited to, the following sectors:
- Emergency response
- Libraries
- Urban development
- Social planning
- Business associations
- Arts and culture
- Sports and recreation
- Justice
- Tourism
Preference will be given to applications that demonstrate how lived experience of mental illness and/or substance use will contribute to spaces that have not previously integrated this expertise.
Learn more and apply here.
Grant Amount
Non-government, not-for-profit, CBOs or First Nations, Métis, Inuit or urban Indigenous led organizations in BC are invited to apply for up to $60,000 in annual funding for a 2-year term.
Anticipated Timelines
- Monday, December 1, 2025: Grant applications open
- Friday, January 16, 2026, 5:00 p.m. (PST): Grant applications close
- January – February 2026: Review and selection process
- March 2026: Grantees notified
- March 2026: Workshop dates
- End of April 2026: Organizational Readiness package submission deadline
- May 2026: Grants awarded