The Importance of Work to Identity and Recovery: A Conversation with Paul Barry

Heart Forward Conversations from the Heart

What we do each day and how we define ourselves to others is critical to our identify and sense of self worth. In this interview, we will explore the importance of identity as a foundational component of mental health recovery.

For those who are involved in designing social enterprise businesses, or creating more pathways to employment for people living with a mental illness in their community, this interview will provide ideas and inspiration.

Paul Barry has had a distinguished career in this space, beginning as a teacher in a maximum security prison for Teach for America, and ending as the head of employment programs at the Village in Long Beach, a highly regarded mental health community under the direction of Mental Health America.

He holds a Masters in Education (Urban Specialty) from the University of Hartford and post-graduate certification in Managed Care from the CA School of Professional Psychology.

Over his career, he developed the first community-based business of its kind that employed adults with developmental disabilities in Pasadena, CA in the early 80’s (the “Hot Dog Building Company”). He created, developed and managed a non-profit agency-owned competitive business, Corporate Cookie, in the Mid-Wilshire business district in Los Angeles in the late 80’s.

He moved on to become the Director of Employment and Community Integration at The Village in Long Beach. In this role, he started three agency-owned businesses (Deli 456, Village Maintenance Business & The Village Cookie Shoppe) and oversaw five job developers to identify community employment opportunities. As his career at The Village progressed, he moved from that role to Associate Director and ultimately Executive Director.

The Village employment program was also awarded 1988 Program of the Year from the California State Dept of Rehabilitation. In 1999 he received Eli Lilly’s National 1st place award for Social Worker of the Year. And, in 2014, he accepted the award on behalf of the Village for the most innovative mental health program in the country, awarded by the National Council on Behavioral Health in Washington DC.

Articles and reports referenced in this interview.

Corporate Cookie Wilshire Blvd 1990

Corporate Cookie on Santa Monica Blvd 1995

DMH E-News 9/29/16

Accoglienza blog on The Importance of Work to Our Identity 2019

Revisiting the Developed Versus Developing Country Distinction in Course and Outcome in Schizophrenia: Results from ISoS, the WHO Collaborative Followup Project. By Kim Hopper and Joseph Wonderling (2000)

Podcast interview (2022) referenced in conversation between Dr. Mark Ragins and Dr. Dave Pilon discussing the 1990’s Village Pilot