From an early age, Chelsea Minhas was able to spot the cracks in the system.
During her childhood, Minhas’ parents were foster parents, caring for everyone from newborns straight from the hospital to teenagers with already established life stories. Sometimes the children were one-night emergency placements; other times, they lived with Minhas and her sister as siblings.
“It taught me a lot about empathy. I was exposed to so many forms of families, so many forms of systems that helped me understand how the systems in our society work, or quite frankly, don’t work,” Minhas said.
Before starting a family of their own, Minhas’ parents experienced homelessness and addiction as young adults.
“It allowed me to see the cracks in systems,” Minhas said. “The health care system, the child welfare system, how our society looks at poverty, and so much more.”
Minhas grew up in the small town of Kitimat, British Columbia. After graduating high school and moving to Vancouver, Minhas started working at a local spa. Every day on her way to work, she passed a Union Gospel Mission youth drop-in center and soon became a volunteer there.
“It oddly felt like home. It felt comfortable. I felt like it meant something being there,” Minhas said.
While volunteering at the youth drop-in center, Minhas learned about Covenant House, an organization that spans North and Central America and provides free, 24/7 care, resources, and safety for young people experiencing homelessness and human trafficking.
Minhas was deeply moved by Covenant House’s mission and soon found herself pitching her skills to the organization’s human resources team.
“I remember the HR worker distinctly telling me that I was too young. I was younger than some of their clients. I said, ‘I promise you, this is where I’m meant to be,’ and that launched me into this new path by accident,” Minhas said.
During her time at the Covenant House, Minhas completed both her bachelor’s degree and her Master of Social Work degree at the University of British Columbia.
She started on the front lines, building meaningful connections with clients. From there, she moved into leadership positions and eventually became chief program and impact officer.
“The clients at Covenant House probably taught me more than my degrees ever did,” Minhas said.
One client in particular has stayed with Minhas after years of working with hundreds of people. A young woman had been brought to the shelter after being found in a parking garage, tied to a wheel well by the person who was trafficking her.
“I had been assigned to her file that night, and she had come in and just sat on the floor,” Minhas recalled. “I sat on the floor with her, and this girl looked at me, and I’ll never forget, she said, ‘Chelsea, why don’t they believe me?’”
The young woman was being treated as an addict on the street who was self-sabotaging her life instead of as a vulnerable individual in danger.
“Nobody stopped to listen to her story. That moment really changed everything for me. At the time, there wasn’t programming for trafficked youth, and I didn’t even have the proper language for what was going on,” Minhas said. “I just knew something was not right and that there were many young women and men experiencing trafficking, and I could not be another person who passed this woman on to the next resource.”
From that moment on, Minhas immersed herself in anti-trafficking work, raising awareness and designing training and development programs for professionals working across multiple sectors.
Years later, Minhas was walking through Vancouver’s entertainment district when she heard someone calling her name. The young woman she had helped years earlier came running down the street holding her daughter.
“She ran up to me and said, ‘Because of you, my little girl will never know what it feels like to have someone not believe you.’ That young person changed my life,” Minhas said.
Finding home at Adler
While Minhas was working at Covenant House, Adler University had a community partnership with the organization, primarily bringing in art therapy students to work with young clients. Through mutual connections, Minhas met Jason Walker, Ph.D., Psy.D., leading to a relationship rooted in a shared passion for counseling and community work.
“I have done a lot of training and teaching in my career so far, and Dr. Walker would joke with me about needing to come teach at Adler. We talked about it for well over a year, and now I am finally here teaching at Adler,” Minhas said.
Minhas is teaching in Adler’s Master of Arts in Psychology: Health and Wellness program. Previously, she taught and trained professionals across North America and Australia, equipping learners with practical skills to better support vulnerable communities. Adler marks her first formal faculty appointment.
“My work is very community based. I believe that relationships are the way to healthy, thriving communities, and that is deeply rooted in the Adler philosophy,” Minhas said.
Minhas will teach Community Psychology and Program Evaluation, focusing on how programs, methods, and interactions can be continually improved to better serve communities and achieve their intended outcomes. Minhas currently works as the CEO of the British Columbia Association of Social Workers.
Students will learn from Minhas’ real-life experiences working with vulnerable communities while also benefiting from the opportunities that come with learning in an urban setting.
“The Adler way of education allows for human connections that is unique and something to be proud of,” Minhas said.