Canadian Paraplegic Association
Client success stories from the Canadian Paraplegic Association NB.
Jennifer is a senior who lives with Cerebral Palsy. This disability affects her mobility in that she requires braces and a cane to safely move around. Jennifer had a limited income and she lived in a sub-standard basement apartment. To leave her apartment, she had to climb 8 stairs and when she would try to navigate the stairs, she often fell and injured herself. It came to the point that Jennifer rarely left her apartment and as a result she was eating very little and had few friends. Her health began to deteriorate. There was mold in her building and it started to affect her breathing. Jennifer received a referral to our Rehabilitation Counselling services and she was able to set goals and develop a plan with her Counsellor. The Counsellor assisted Jennifer in securing a safe, affordable, accessible apartment where there were no stairs to navigate. The Counsellor also worked with Jennifer to identify activities that Jennifer would like to do outside of her home. Jennifer and her Counsellor went together to a local seniors centre and now Jennifer goes regularly on her own and has met other seniors. They play cards, go for walks and have potlucks together. Jennifer is thankful for her Rehabilitation Counsellor and the fact that they were able to identify solutions together.
One of our Rehabilitation Counsellors recently helped Jordan, a 15 year old youth living with Cerebral Palsy, and his family to look at funding options to cover costs associated with modifications to the family washroom. Jordan uses a wheelchair to get around and his goal was to be able to do his own personal care as independently as possible. The layout of the family washroom was a significant barrier and he needed the support of others, most often his mother, to help him to get in and out of the bathtub. This was a difficult task for Jordan’s mother and they were often both at risk of an injury. The costs of the recommended accessibility-related modifications to the bathroom totalled over $15,000. Jordan’s family had a limited income and they did not have the funds to pay for these high costs. Jordan’s family and his CPA (N.B.) Inc. Rehabilitation Counsellor worked together to apply to funding sources to help cover the costly modifications. Funding was secured, the modifications were made and Jordan is now able to complete his personal care safely and independently.
