By – Kendall Worth!
Carrie Ann Budgen is living day to day knowing that the date of her unwanted return home to Newfoundland is getting closer. On the one hand, she is really looking forward to getting back home to Newfoundland, (Meaning, at least she will get to see her family at Christmas this year) As I reported in Part#5, her return home is not going to be just a trip home to see her family, in Newfoundland, at Christmas. This is not the move she wants and she is not prepared to make it. Carrie Ann feels that by being forced to leave Nova Scotia she is leaving educational, professional, and personal growth opportunities, behind. Carrie Ann’s departure is also a loss to Nova Scotia. If you have been following her story, you would know that a lot has happened to provoke this move.
Now before getting into the nitty gritty of part#6 I want to provide any new readers, with an understanding of my blog as I explain in this post . I also want to provide a bit of a background so everyone understands who Carrie Ann is, and what her story is about. One thing I like to promote in my BLOG is Disability Inclusion and this is why, after the mainstream media outlets, would not take Carrie Ann's Story, I decided to take this story on. In this unrelated post, because of our system of Income Assistance, in Nova Scotia, many with disabilities are feeling like they are encouraged to live life in social isolation. This is exactly what Carrie Ann feels like the University officials are encouraging for her.
Carrie Ann Bugden is a student who has disabilities: Cerebral Palsy and Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. She is studying psychology, youth and family studies, at Mount Saint Vincent University. As reported in Part#1 she ended up having issues with her roommates at Westwood Residence located on the Mount Saint Vincent University campus. Her former Westwood roommates discriminated against her, and, if you look at Part#3 I elaborate further on the problems that Carrie Ann had with those former room mates, at Westwood. What hurts Carrie Ann’s mental Health these days is the fact that her former roommates have never been disciplined by the University administration. However, as Part#2 reports, Carrie Ann, herself, was unjustly disciplined by the University. Those former roommates at Westwood should have been disciplined, not Carrie Ann. The university made it mandatory for her to move from Westwood to Assisi Hall. Carrie Ann’s story brings to light other Issues affecting the Disability community like:
The Carrie Ann Bugden story builds the case, as explained here, on why the the Canadian Disability Benefit which the federal government is working on, is needed. This new Disability Benefit should not be a disincentive for persons with disabilities to be employed, or for for them to further their education. Also, this story about Carrie Ann gives a strong message about respecting disability rights as other previous posts point out.
The Carrie Anne Bugden story gives a strong message about ableism. We should not treat persons with disabilities like they are actually disabled. Respect goes both ways.
And the final important message of Carrie Ann’s story is that – if Nova Scotia had a different and a better system of income Assistance, and mental health supports, then this would have solved some of her problems at the University right there. One example of this is, if she had more money to live on while being a student, she would have had more freedom to live off campus.
This story is important, because, as pointed out here Carrie Ann’s situation is one of 2, I interviewed for this post, pointing out that the University enforced this move in the midst of a Major Housing Crisis.
Anyway... moving on to the nitty gritty of what Part#6 is about!
Carrie Ann feels strongly that her experience, living and studying in Nova Scotia, has offered Nova Scotia a learning experience. I am talking here about how a person with disabilities like cerebral palsy, can pursue post secondary education, but also live independent lives. Carrie Ann would consider sticking around following December 19th 2023 if accessible and affordable housing was available. Carrie Ann recently found out that back home in Newfoundland, she can only stay with her mom for a short amount of time. Carrie Ann feels it is not feasible for her stay with her mother for the long term. Also Carrie Ann pointed out in my recent interview, with her, that she cannot be independent, while living at her mom's place. However, a couple of things are clear now. For her to stay, or return to study in N.S. she need a better support system in place, and she would need to live off campus.
During my recent interview with her, and while also providing some support, I learned that the issues she has been having are not limited to her troubles with the university, and, as reported in Part#5 she was unhappy with her recent visit to the hospital and dealing with the health care system in Nova Scotia. She was told she does not qualify for Homecare services in Nova Scotia because she is not considered a Nova Scotia resident, and... more is explained below.
If you look at Part#5 of Carrie Ann's story the question becomes What else could the hospital have done besides admitting her or offering medication for the spasms she was having?
We have to remember:
The hospital staff has no jurisdiction to Call the University and tell the university to solve her housing issues, or move her back into Westwood.
The hospital also has no jurisdiction to call Department of Community Services and tell them to allow her to go on Income Assistance despite her student loan, and not being a NS resident.
Despite her time at the Mount, Carrie Ann also has several issues/unanswered questions for the city of Halifax and the Province of Nova Scotia. On Tuesday November 21st 2023 she was present at the City of Halifax’s, Accessibility Advisory Committee Annual Town Hall and she posed several questions to the Accessible Advisory committee, but was advised to keep her concerns relevant only to municipal matters. Before leaving Newfoundland, Carrie Ann was told by at least 6 different people, that, after she moved to Nova Scotia, she would be eligible for everything Nova Scotia has in the way of support services, 6 months after arriving. After her arrival, she discovered, that she was misinformed by those in the Disability Support program, in Nova Scotia. She found out that she could not become a Nova Scotia resident because of her status as full time student, living in residence. Carrie Ann has noticed gaps in the system -- in the whole system (not just in Healthcare) -- through the N.S. bureaucratic system of accessing support and care. Since moving to Halifax, Carrie Ann has spoken to several Newfoundlanders who told her that they had complex issues with becoming, officially, a Nova Scotia resident, and Carrie Ann wants to know why.
Carrie Ann says that Halifax is bigger then Saint John’s but has fewer resources. Halifax, Carrie Ann says uses it’s size as a barrier to justify the exclusion of marginalized persons with disabilities. At the town-hall, Carrie Ann suggested that supportive healthcare services should be provided for persons with disabilities, who live rough, in tents, as opposed to living in the community.
So this brings up the question… If Carrie Ann does return to Halifax in April, 2024, does she return to Halifax and live in a tent for 6 months while waiting to become a Nova Scotia resident? With Carrie Ann's disabilities, a tent, as her housing, is not an ideal solution for her. (or for anyone, really)
The background to her need for assistance is that, when Carrie Ann signed her application with the university, it included a health disclosure form saying that she is 100% self sufficient. Before her recent visit to the hospital, 15 months passed in which she did not need home care. Before her move to Assisi she was cooking her own food and felt like she had purpose, dignity, and autonomy in life.
Carrie Ann, however, had major issues with her room-mates at Westwood. Despite those issues, as pointed out in Part#3, she believes a roommate agreement could have been drafted and enforced by the University. This agreement could have included a memo of understanding, informing roommates of her disabilities that requires her use a wheelchair. She believes that if a roommate agreement had been in place, then all of the problems she had with her roommates at Westwood could have been avoided.
Despite how her roommates treated her at Westwood, in other ways she actually felt like she belonged at the University. At Assisi, she feels that all is lost. At Assisi, she is in a constant state of being overwhelmed and filled with anxiety. Since the posting of part#5 the paramedics have come to see Carrie Ann 3 times and it was on the 3rd visit from Paramedics when they took her to Hospital. Carrie Ann feels that calling the Paramedics is the worse thing the university has ever done. Her Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder has been exasperated by the situation. Carrie Ann says that her cerebral palsy is also misunderstood by the university staff and administration.
This is not the first time that Carrie Ann has felt that her cerebral palsy and complex post traumatic stress disorder have been misunderstood by the university. Her former roommates at Westwood also misunderstood her disability, at times. The behaviour I spoke about in part#3 speaks in detail about her roommates behaviour at Westwood.
Since Part 5 was published, I have also discovered that, because Carrie Ann lives on a university campus, she is not covered nor protected under the Nova Scotia Residential Tenancies Act. This means that when Carrie Ann was forced to move from Westwood to Assisi Hall, she could not qualify for any intervention from the Nova Scotia Tenancy Board.
Carrie Ann, even before she met me, was in contact with Reachability, Easter Seals, Independent Living Nova Scotia, and Services for Persons with Disabilities through Community Services. Every one of those organizations told Carrie Ann that they could not help her; because she is under the University’s umbrella, and is not considered a Nova Scotia resident, and eligible for services. At my request Carrie Ann got a visit from my MLA Gary Burrill in September. Her MLA who happens to be Rafah Dicostanzo did not even return her calls. What Carrie Ann was hoping to gain with an MLA's Assistance whether from Gary Burrill's visit or Rafah Dicostanzo included:
Some sort of negotiator to sit between her and the University officials.
Navigation to become a Nova Scotia resident.
Getting hooked up with the mental health system and some other supports in Nova Scotia, after every organization she called told her they could not help her because she is not a nova Scotia resident.
To have an MLA negotiate with community services to allow her to receive Income Assistance while keeping her student loan.
Gary Burrill informed Carrie Ann during his visit, that although sympathetic, he was not her MLA, and that an MLA could do very little to resolve her situation, certainly none of the things Carrie Ann was hoping for... . In fact as Gary Burrill told her, there is nothing an MLA can do to help Carrie Ann get her issues resolved with the University. Universities are independent from government.
According to some people on campus the room in the background is believed to be the room where meetings about Carie Ann were held behind her back - she was not invited.
Her financial situation is also precarious. She received a student loan of a little over $9000 but only got $135 in her hand. The rest went to the university for tuition and board… Roughly $8,865 is what the University took from her. That $9000 is what she received in October out of 16K for the full academic year. One thing which is clear now, is when, or even if, she come back to Halifax, she is going to have to live off campus. A point I made in Part#2 is this amount for a full year is not enough for Carrie Ann to live off Campus, considering that rents in Halifax are ranging from $1500 to $3000 a month for suitable, and in Carrie Ann's case, accessible, places to live. Also, if Carrie Ann wants to become a Nova Scotia resident, some people are advising that she should come back in April. This way she can be a Nova Scotia resident by the time the academic year starts in Sept. 2024.
Carrie Ann knows that there are people out there who want to support her, but it is hard to find out who these people are. She finds that some people can be nice to your face but mean behind your back. Carrie Ann believes that if these people find it is not their problem, they do not want to pay attention. This is not the experience she had back in Newfoundland. Carrie Ann believe it has gotten worse since COVID. Carrie Ann Came to Nova Scotia expecting better then what she had experienced, especially since moving into Assisi. Carrie Ann says that people keep to themselves and do not look at the bigger picture outside of themselves. Since coming to Nova Scotia, Carrie Ann has felt like she is underneath the microscope, because of her disabilities. She is the first person who uses a wheelchair to live on the MSVU University Campus, as demonstrated by the way she has been treated. Carrie Ann was given no other options but to come to Assisi and it does not work well for Carrie Ann. The university staff did not work with Carrie Ann. . . just demanded that she live in Assisi.
But in Assisi, her room is too small for someone in a power chair to move around in, and she cannot access the shower or toilet due to hand rail position, which has not been altered. They complain that a larger room is not available to her as it would require roommates and the university considers her "difficult to get along with" because previous roommates were not happy living with "someone in a wheel chair". Instead of complaining about or disciplining these students the University is treating it like it is her fault, or and allowing no access to those students to back up their claims -- no one is allowed to question the "room mates", except the University, who claim Carrie Ann is the problem.
Carrie Ann has been discriminated against by the University. Her dorm room is not as accessible as they claimed, and they are making no effort to accommodate her - in fact fighting her over every request for assistance.
There is no actual Human rights violation in what I understand so far -- except possibly not accommodating the disability (wheelchair) as well as Carrie Anne would like. Handrails still not altered? Space to move around (there are larger rooms in Assisi)? We could organize a protest, as Carrie Ann and I have discussed. if we can identify specific Human Rights violations.
Carrie Ann wants to come back to Halifax to study at the Mount, but to live off campus, and have in place a different and better support system.
How
can those of us who support her, organize a better support system for
Carrie when:
She was already told by Department of Community Services that she cannot go on Income Assistance if she has a student loan.
She is not classed as a Nova Scotia resident which means she cannot qualify for a rental subsidy in Nova Scotia.
She cannot qualify for Income Assistance in Nova Scotia which also means she cannot qualify for the Career Seek program.
As reported above in this post, she has contacted disability organizations since coming to Nova Scotia, and been told that because she is not a Nova Scotia resident they cannot help.
So with all that being said, how do we create a better support system when, or if, she does come back to Nova Scotia?
Hum!
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