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Halifax volunteer, advocate fighting to keep people with disabilities from being warehoused
By the time Jen Powley founded the non-profit named No More Warehousing: The Nova Scotia Association for Inclusive Homes and Support (NMW) in 2018 she was, among other things, a seasoned volunteer and advocate for the environment, refugees and persons with disabilities; is a successful academic with two masters degrees; a professional with a packed resumé; and, on her way to becoming an award-winning author.
Province stalls on home for disabled adults on Gottingen Street
Nova Scotia still has more than 1,000 people with severe disabilities in institutions and a wait list of more than 1,500 for group homes.
That’s why after the 2019 Emerald Hall Human Rights decision affirmed that people with disabilities have the right to adequate care in the community; and after the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities criticized how Nova Scotia is doing on housing for the disabled, you would think that the government of Nova Scotia would jump at the chance to give people with severe physical disabilities a home within the community…
N.s. adults with disabilities address lack of appropriate housing during national accessibility week
For nearly a decade, daily tasks such as enjoying the taste of a meal has been a struggle for Vicky Levack due to the circumstances of the environment she says is her only option to live in.
“I’ve lived here since I was 21. There are no activities for people my age. The food for people my age is horrible. Everything is flavourless and mushy because a lot of people I live with don’t have teeth.” …
Joanne larade, disability rights advocate, passes away
Larade was an executive member of the Halifax Chapter of Muscular Dystrophy Canada, and a resident of a long-term care facility.
Larade advocated for people with disabilities who are institutionalized in long term care homes because the government is not providing suitable living accomodations in the community.
Nova scotia disability, accessible housing advocate passes away at age 47
A well-known disability advocate from Cape Breton has died. Joanne Larade passed away on Tuesday at Cobequid Community Health Centre. She was 47. Larade had been living in long-term care for the past six years, surrounded by elderly people living with dementia, and having no one her age — other than staff members — to talk to.
Mothers of children with severe disabilities call on nova scotia to create more housing
Mothers of children with severe disabilities gathered at the Halifax Central Library to discuss the challenges they face by not having suitable housing options for their children. For some the need is especially acute as they grow older and face their own health problems. Alexa MacLean has more…
N.S. Mothers call for better housing options for adults with disabilities
A group of mothers of adult children with disabilities say the best Mother’s Day gift they could ever receive from Nova Scotia’s provincial government would be better options for the housing and care of their sons and daughters…
Fighting to keep young adults with disabilities out of nursing homes
Mary Burtt's daughter Laura Osborne was diagnosed with metachromatic leukodystrophy—a rare disease with symptoms of muscle rigidity, inability to walk, seizures and blindness—when she was 16 years old. "We knew it was only going to get worse," says Burt. Laura Osborne's disease progressed until she began using a wheelchair, and by the time she was 20 years old she was fully dependent on physical support. Today she lives in a nursing home with seniors…
Nova Scotia family fights for future of son with disabilities
For all of Brendon’s 29 years, his parents have been his caregivers, his lifeline. But as Kim Smith and Kathleen Purdy get older, there is growing anxiety about what Brendon’s future will look like — where he will live, who will care for him?…
Get people with disabilities out of institutions, rights groups tell Nova Scotia
Disability rights advocates are calling for Nova Scotia to commit to spending the money needed to get people out of institutions and into the community.
Nova Scotians with disabilities want community-based living supports now
Many Nova Scotians with intellectual and physical disabilities continue to live in large institutions against their will, while others are being taken care of by ageing and senior parents.
What many of them want is to live in their communities, typically in a small option home, with the necessary supports to allow then to live a full life, the kind of life most people take for granted.
Disability advocates call for more community-living support
Jen Powley wants a different future than what's staring her in the face.
The 41-year-old Halifax resident was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis when she was 15 and moved to Nova Scotia from Alberta at 23. She's needed 24/7 support for the last decade and, in 2013, was forced to stop work.
Get people with disabilities out of institutions, rights groups tell Nova Scotia
Disability rights advocates are calling for Nova Scotia to commit to spending the money needed to get people out of institutions and into the community.
Jen Powley, who is co-president of a group called No More Warehousing, said she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis when she was 15, and doesn’t want the disease to define her life.
Disability advocates say Nova Scotia must fix system that is ‘warehousing’ hundreds of people
Advocates are calling on the government of Nova Scotia to fix a “broken and inequitable” system for people with disabilities by committing a larger cut of the budget to supportive housing. Jen Powley, a 41-year-old woman with multiple sclerosis, told a press conference at Province House Thursday how the paucity of community-living options for people with physical and mental disabilities may mean she will have to leave her home and community.
“its basically a warehouse for the dying”: Nova Scotians call for overhaul of long-term care homes
“A panel of disability advocates spoke to a crowd of more than 100 people on Thursday night, outlining their concerns over the lack of options related to dedicated housing for people with physical disabilities.
They’re calling on the government to step up and provide funding that would ensure that the living situations of people with physical disabilities are not just meeting the minimum standards….”
THe fight for fair housing
“The room was packed. The chairs filled first. Extra chairs were brought out. Then the aisles filled with people until finally, the doors opened so attendees could pour out and watch the panelists from outside.
The No More Warehousing: Time for Housing and Dignity for Nova Scotia’s Severely Physically Disabled panel was held at the Halifax Central Library last week…”
nursing homes no place for severely disabled
“Imagine being 28 and not being able to decide what you’ll eat for dinner, breakfast or lunch. Imagine being unable to take a bath when you need to, having to ask someone if you can go to the toilet, having to live with people who scare or threaten you, or down a hall from someone who sexually assaulted you, and you’re told not to make a fuss…”
Halifax author with multiple sclerosis at a crossroads without access to affordable medical care
“Jennifer Powley hasn’t cost taxpayers a dime. In fact, she’s a big contributor to her community. Powley has put her education — four university degrees — to good use, co-ordinating care for other disabled Nova Scotians, heading a group that sponsors LGBTQ refugees and volunteering to advise health-care students. Her recent memoir also won a literary award.
But, stricken by debilitating multiple sclerosis since she was 15, Powley is now at a crossroads.
She needs the kind of help her family can no longer afford and the province of Nova Scotia does not provide…”
A Nova Scotian's struggle to live independently, and how the Province is failing her
“Jen Powley has multiple sclerosis and is now getting to the point where she needs more help. But she doesn't want to be institutionalised. Halifax Journalist Stephen Kimber outlined her story in a recent piece for the Halifax Examiner…”
Jen’s choice is no choice at all; why not?
“Jen Powley is smart. She has four degrees. She’s a prize-winning author with an eclectic CV and a significant record of ongoing accomplishment. She’s still only 41. So why does she face a government-imposed Hobson’s life choice: go into a nursing home to be warehoused and “removed from society” for the rest of her life, or accept care that isn’t even adequate to meet her most basic needs?…”