Young Halifax women want age-appropriate nursing homes

Two women living with disabilitiesin nursing homesarecalling on the province to provide more age-appropriate housing alternatives.

Vicky Levack, 23, has cerebral palsy. Shelives with about 40 people in the young adults wingof theArbourstone nursing home in Halifax.

The wingincludes everyone who isnt a senior.

She is one of 127people under the age of 50 who live in a nursing home in Nova Scotia, according to the Health Department.

Levack co-founded a group called Independence Now Nova Scotia to urge the province to provide more age-appropriate housing inside and outside nursing homes.

Being somewhere where youre at the beginning of your life but youre seeing what the end is going to be like, especially if you have depression like myself, it makes me think, whats the point? she said.

She said she would rather be in a house with people her own age.

Health department listening

Melanie Gaunt, 43,lives inIvany Place nursing home in Bedfordbecause of her multiple sclerosis.

She suggested having activities offered specifically for younger people.

Maybe an afternoon watching different YouTube videos or something, or a book club" she said.

The province's health department said it is starting to address some of these needs.

We need to be more aware of that and what the possibilities are and get used to the fact that because you are in a nursing home doesnt mean you stop living, said Donna Dillof Continuing Care Evaluation. You still want to do all the same things.

The government does have a road map for the change but said it could take as long as 10 years to accomplish it.