‘A battle that is impossible to win’
People First Nova Scotia making a positive difference
The Annapolis Valley Exhibition grounds in Lawrencetown recently had an extra special treat, as the RCMP Musical Ride was accompanied by a choreographed flash mob performance by Soul Expression Dance Studio. Despite temperatures that reached 40 C, the day-long festivities were a huge success.
“It was an amazing day,” says Jaymee-Lynne Dowell, provincial project co-ordinator for People First Nova Scotia, and organizer of the event.
“We had about 300 people in attendance, so it was a pretty good turnout for our small organization.”
As its name would suggest, the mission of People First Nova Scotia is to put people first.
“We’re all about breaking down barriers,” says Dowell. “With this event we wanted to highlight the intersectionality of pride.”
Intersectionality is the acknowledgement that everybody has their own unique experiences of discrimination and oppression and promotes awareness of how marginalization can occur based on gender, race, class and sexual orientation, as well as intellectual and physical ability.
“Many people are labelled under more than one of these categories,” Dowell says. “We want to promote the idea that no matter how many intersections or identities you have, it’s OK to be proud.”
With a belief that everyone should have the right to live their lives with dignity, People First Nova Scotia is a self-advocacy group of people who have been labelled with an intellectual disability. The organization’s mission is to offer support, provide a voice and educate the broader community about the issues and abilities of its members.
“I’ve known since I was very young that I wanted to work with people with disabilities,” Dowell says.
She got to meet residents of Kings Regional Rehabilitation Centre at local softball games when she was a child.
As Dowell grew older her views and beliefs, in tandem with those of society in general, were moving away from the institutionalization model for people with disabilities. The right of people to live their lives as members of the community has come to be viewed as a basic human right.
When she moved back to the Valley a decade ago, Dowell worked with a community support service program in Bridgetown and for nine years she helped individuals learn the skills needed to live in the community.
“We helped people learn how to cook, bank and get to appointments,” Dowell says. “We worked on all the things people need to know to be independent.”
In 2017, she began volunteering with People First as the organization was seeking an adviser for its Annapolis chapter. She took on the volunteer role for four and a half years and then last year accepted a full-time job as provincial co-ordinator.
“I just fell in love with everything that they did and their mission,” Dowell says. She says while the work is not without its challenges, it is ultimately extremely rewarding.
“Sometimes it feels like you’re fighting a battle that is impossible to win. But when I spend time with the people I work for, and hear the power they have behind their voices, I know I’m doing something that matters.”