Photo: Becca McHaffie | Unsplash
Shawnna Hastings-Downey's painting of a colorful peacock shows the self-confidence she's developed through working at The Abundance Store, a thrift store run by the Elizabeth Fry Society of Mainland Nova Scotia. The society works with women and gender-diverse people to address barriers and root causes of criminalization. Hastings-Downey, who lives with cerebral palsy, taught herself to paint with her non-dominant hand, and sells her prints through the store. Other clients do as well. The store, which opened in April, is staffed by three society employees and four clients. The building's lease is paid through a grant and the clothes come from donations. The store's earnings pay the women to work there. Hastings-Downey is currently enrolled in a disability support and services program at Nova Scotia Community College and hopes to work with children with disabilities, something she says wouldn't have been possible without the support she's received through the Abundance Program.
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