Safe haven under threat
Road to healthy future for Island should not leave behind legacy of creative and caring initiative destroyed
This story is about horses, children and a passionate young woman who loves both, and who brings them together in a safe place for learning, for enjoyment, and in many instances, for healing. It’s also about a government that, as it stands right now, is possibly going to bring an end to it all.
The woman is Ellen Jones from the Cornwall Road whose property (the Hughes-Jones Centre) is, unfortunately, directly in the path of the proposed Cornwall bypass. I visited her recently and listened raptly as she spoke with great conviction about the calming and centering effect horses can have on both adults and children, and about how the 40 or so individuals (mostly youngsters) who come to her place every week seem to leave their troubles at the gate when they enter the barn and begin interacting with the animals.
Just before I left, a young girl of 10 or 11 arrived. Ellen asked how her day at school had been. She shrugged and said, with little feeling, “Oh all right.” Then she pulled on her barn boots and headed for the horses, and as I pulled out the lane I saw her leading a very old mare around the yard in what was obviously a caring relationship, and I thought to myself, what a wonderful sight I was witnessing, and felt happy for the girl, and others like her. And for the old horse as well.
For many youngsters, discovering a safe place among supportive and non-judgemental companions is not an easy thing to find in this world, but it happens at the Hughes-Jones Centre every day, where the motto is: “Working to improve our community, one kid, one horse — one life at a time.”
The Centre was a dream finally realized for Ellen when, after working with horses in Wales, Australia and China, she was able, with the help of her family, to return to her home community in 2008 and begin the work she is doing. When she speaks of it her eyes shine with purpose and enthusiasm, but now there is apprehension there as well, for the amount she is being offered for her land and buildings is not enough to start over in a new location. And that’s all she wants; to be able to keep on doing what she is doing.
I don’t know the details of what amount is needed, or what is being offered. The only point I wish to make is that in a province where there are so many anxious and troubled children, and where services to help are so woefully inadequate, to force Ellen Jones out of business would be a very great mistake. This is an exceptional case and needs to be treated with great compassion.
She didn’t say it, but I will. In this province, at this time, we need what she is doing more than we need improved transportation, and if there is not enough money for both of those, there is no question in this writer’s mind what the priority needs to be.
The road to a healthy future for the Island should not leave behind the legacy of a creative and caring initiative destroyed. David Weale is a Charlottetown author, historian, educator, publisher and a member of Vision P.E.I.