Meshell4C

Personal Information

Full Name

Michelle Clark

City or Community

Sackville, Dartmouth and Spryfield Nova Scotia. I have ties to all three.

About

I'm a single Mom of 2, dating a single Dad of 3. Both of us, and our children suffer from a disability - at least by today's definitions.
I have lived almost my entire life in the HRM, and I love it here.
I had my first job at 14, my first child at 18, my first psychotic break at 22, and clawed myself off of the welfare system and back into the working world at 25.

Getting off of assistance was rough, there weren't a lot of options out there for me. The system didn't seem to support getting an education, or bettering yourself in anyway. So I went back to working at minimum wage, and moved home with my family for free live-in sitting. I re-gained (or perhaps found) my self-esteem. Right at this moment, I am unemployed again, and searching for work, and I am having a terrible time of it. Honest people with mental illness do not do well in interviews.

I have experienced many injustices in my 40 years, coming from poverty as a child, raising children in part the same way, and meeting the people that you do when you live in lower-income housing.
For 10 years, I was working full time, being exploited over-time, and learning the ropes of being a single-working parent. I've gotten to know many people, and their stories along the way.

In 2010 I had my second psychotic break, and started a new phase of my life: Mental Health Services Nova Scotia.
Brought on by the death of a close family member, and then another, I was unable to cope. A referral was put in place, and the wait list was long. I went through several jobs during this time. Finally I stopped applying to new locations. If I was only going to continue to lose jobs due to inability to work, there was no sense. I had worked in one location from 2002-2009. From April of 2011 through March of 2012, I had seven different employers.

Now, it's nearing 2013. I am medicated, stable – and aware.
This past 8 months being home full-time has educated me in ways that school could never have done.
But I am angry. Angry at the news that I hear, and the corruption that I see.
I have a need to do something about it, that nags at me every single day.

I will be looking around HRM for human interest and social justice stories.
I am a proud environmental enthusiast.
If you have something of interest – please feel free to contact me.
There is certainly no shortage of problems in the HRM, and I seek to expose them.
I have a belief that even the most underprivileged person in HRM has something to contribute to society, and I choose this medium to make my case.
(Mainly in blog posts obviously - a journalist I am not)
Because of this - I am biased. I can't say I'm not. However, I can definitely speak both sides of the story, and quote sources with the best of them.
I can't work as a social advocate, as I'd like to do - because I just do not have the priviledge at this time to take out a new loan and get more schooling - but I can still advocate for social justice - and justice in general - in my own way.

How did you learn about the media co-op?

I'm not sure how I linked to your site. I read all day now. I started out looking for new information on the "Occupy" movement, then the "Idle No More" movement, from there I am not sure what linked me here.
Honestly, I have been looking for some real journalism, and joining at every site I find it. I always need more stories, and more sources for information.
I Especially loved the stories on Fracking, and was enthralled. I am impressed by how much work went into the stories posted here, and their accuracy.
Then came the story of an eviction on Jackson Road, in Dartmouth. My boyfriend just went through a similar situation with a slumlord and it really hit home for me. I knew immediately, that this is the place I wanted to speak. My Facebook friends will thank you!

History

Member for

8 years 17 weeks

Blog

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