Ruth attended CLBC’s Start with Hi event in Prince George during Community Living Month.

Inside Voice
The Self-Advocate’s Perspective

Singing helps woman find her voice
By Ruth Stanton

I am a Self Advocate from the North. I grew up in Cranbrook and Creston and moved to Prince George about five years ago.

I went to school in Cranbrook. High School was not a great time for me. I am proud that I didn’t quit. I hung in there and graduated but it was not easy. 

I found school to be a lonely place but one thing that got me through the tough times is singing. I love to sing and would spend a lot of my school day in the music room. The music room became my community. One of my fondest memories was singing in the choir.

One year, Frank Mills performed in our town and our choir performed with him. It was Christmas time and so on top of our usual Christmas performance, we also sang at that concert as Frank Mills’ backup. Now that I am finished school, I sing in the choir at church.

Another passion of mine is working with children. My dream is to take courses in Early Childhood Education and work with pre-school age children. My favourite age group is 3 and 4 year olds. So right now I have been trying to upgrade my courses and get into college. Math is my biggest barrier and I need to have Grade 10 level math to get into the courses I want.

Sometimes the choices get really overwhelming. When I get overwhelmed by too many options, I have to take time to think and talk to friends. My mom and sisters, I have three, also help me to think through some things and make some decisions. 

I am involved with the Self Advocate Group in Prince George and I love it! I have made some great friends in this group. We are pretty active. Right now we are planning an employer appreciation event for businesses and people who hire self advocates in Prince George. We want to honor and thank those employers and we also want to raise awareness about the good things that self advocates can do as employees. We are good workers. Our goal is to find more jobs for people. Our group is being coached by an advisor from Aim-Hi which is the agency in Prince George where we meet.

Other than that, our group meets regularly, supports each other through good and bad times. We go to the pub, the mall and all the places that friends go together. I met one of my best friends in this group. In fact, I was a bridesmaid at her wedding a couple of years ago. 

I have to say that I love living in Prince George! I came here from the Kootenays and never went back. Prince George is home to me now and that is fine with me.

Inside Voice is published in each issue of The Citizen. If you are interested in writing for this column, please call Chris Rae at 1-877-660-2522 or e-mail editor@communitylivingbc.ca to discuss.