Hopeless in Nova Scotia
With tears on my cheeks, I’m making this declaration: Nova Scotia is hopeless.
People are living in tents.
People are hungry.
Teachers are frustrated.
Cancer, Obesity, Diabetes… name the disease, it is flourishing here in Nova Scotia.
Misogyny is rampant.
Racism is tolerated.
Violence is everywhere.
And we keep expecting the government to fix it for us.
They can’t.
It’s hopeless.
Since the beginning of settlers arriving in Mi'kma'ki, there has been a common theme.
Promises were made by government to entice and compel people to make a life here. And then those promises were broken, and continue to be broken.
This theme emerges in the history of every group of people who have arrived on these shores, and Indigenous people have experienced and witnessed broken promises for centuries.
And yet, we ignore historical facts and evidence, and continue to look to those who collect and distribute the wealth of our province for a solution to our woes.
Forget their promises. Government is NOT going to fix our situation. They never have, and they never will.
Government is hopeless.
Obviously, I’m in a mood. Yesterday morning I was hopeful about a scheduled meeting with employees at Nova Scotia’s Office of Addictions and Mental Health.
Today, I am wondering what I had hoped for, and what did I think was going to happen?
I wasn’t expecting to wake up today feeling hopeless. But that’s where I am.
I can’t stop the tears.
I failed to effectively advocate for children.
And while I am sad for me, the real problem is that I am failing the children. Including my own.
34% of children will experience child sexual abuse
by age 18.
How many times have I typed that sentence in the past 2 years?
The truth is, I feel deeply responsible for these children because I know the challenges that come with recovery, and I know that we could prevent this suffering from happening.
Today, I am realizing that I still wanted the government to take responsibility for this issue. I wanted them to swoop in with all their financial resources and say,
‘You are right Angela! We should be protecting children from sexual abuse.’
After my meeting yesterday, I know that I have to dig into the depths of my soul and release that dream.
Because government has shown me over and over again that they are not ready to protect children.
I haven’t seen evidence that they recognize (through policy) that protecting children is the essential component of building a healthier and happier community. Our children are experiencing high rates of abuse and poverty. I don't hear government making the link between childhood abuse and poverty, and the predictable harms that occur when children face these preventable adversities.
Yesterday, I revisited my efforts to promote prevention that began in 2011. I revisited the waves of public acknowledgement of this problem and the ‘findings’ that so many reports have already declared.
We need prevention.
Despite decades of work, prevention is NOT part of our government’s mandate.
Here’s what the website for the Office of Addictions and Mental Health has to say about their priorities,
Our priorities are:
helping improve recovery outcomes for people living with addictions and mental illness
expanding access to mental health and addictions care and services
improving wait times for mental health and addictions care and support services
These priorities do not include preventing people from acquiring addictions or mental health challenges.
So again, I don’t know what I was hoping for when I met with employees who are hired to respond to addiction, not prevent addiction.
My sadness and despair will pass. This isn’t the first time I’ve wept over my failure, I will move on.
Because children will still be out there needing better protection.
The government is hopeless. But we, the people, are not.
We don’t need the government’s approval or permission or their money.
We just need people like you and me.
People who care about protecting children from sexual abuse.
We need to be creative, and think outside the box about how to implement prevention training in youth-serving organizations.
Because over the past 11 years, I have seen that all of us carry an idea, or a hope, that government could provide the funding we need. That government could create the policies we need.
They could. But they haven’t, and there isn’t much evidence that they plan to.
So we need to look inward, and look to our family and our friends to find ways to encourage each other to build a prevention-oriented community.
We have to look at our own financial capabilities, and we have to ask those in our community who have financial success to help.
We are focusing on the best prevention strategy that we have access to.
It’s so simple. And yet, so profound.
It’s worked in communities all over the world.
And it can work here.
If we want to see fewer people living in tents, better access to healthy food, less suicide, less depression, less cancer, more happiness, more joy, and more creativity, we must take responsibility for building a prevention-oriented community.
We are looking forward to asking more businesses and financially healthy people to sponsor our prevention training.
When an organization or a generous person sponsors a training, it makes it easy to get adults trained.
Many youth-serving organizations tell us that they would be happy to take the training if it was provided at no cost.
You can help by sponsoring a training, or asking someone you know to sponsor a training.
We hear people say,
“Shouldn’t this be paid for? Shouldn’t this be provided (by the government)? Shouldn’t this be mandatory?”
Even though the answer is yes, yes, and yes. The fact is, it’s not.
We can experience the benefits of a happier and healthier community by working together to solve the problem of child sexual abuse. Because a solution exists. And we don’t have to wait for our government to figure that out.
At Priority Kids, we plan to double down on our efforts in 2024. Despite my mood today, we have actually made great progress this year. We are hoping to have your continued support going forward.
Please consider sponsoring a training, and helping us to promote the sponsorship opportunity to the individuals and businesses who have the means to help build a prevention-oriented community.
I'm feeling more hopeful already :)
Angela and the PK Team
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If the content of this article causes you distress or discomfort,
please seek support.
Where to Get Help in Nova Scotia
Call 211
Kids Help Phone Call 1-800-668-6868
