I met my younger self for coffee. She was early—always full of hope. I was late, as life tends to make us.
She looked at me, eyes wide, and asked, “Do I ever get out?” I told her, “Don’t rush through it all. But yes—if you work hard, if you keep going, you just might go far.”
She sighed. “Not if I’m from here,” she said. That word—here—it sat heavy in her chest. She repeated what she’d heard a hundred times: “This place will trap you. You have to leave, or you’ll never be free.”
I met her gaze and said, “You’re going to prove them wrong. You’ll push past the limits they’ve drawn around you. You’ll matter. You’ll make change. You will go far.”
She stirred her tea, quiet for a moment, then asked, “Does where you come from decide where you end up? "I smiled gently and said, “Only if you let it. People will have their opinions, their expectations—but they don’t get to choose your path. Follow your dreams, stay true to yourself, and you’ll see—you can go anywhere.”
(Cecelia,2025)
People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite... Man's goodness is a flame that can be hidden but never extinguished.”
-Nelson Mandela
Throughout my project I have chosen to look at structural inequalities, but what are structural inequalities and why would I choose them. When I started this project I was reading the book titled, Long Walk to Freedom the biography of Nelson Mandela. Far to often people are judged because of the circumstances that they come from. It could happen in South Africa, India, China and can even happen right here in Cape Breton.
When you type Cape Breton into google you get 5 negative articles for every one good. My youth have no control over the narrative that is placed on the community and it is up to us, as adults to change the narratives so that the youth know that they do have a future, they are not doomed because of where they come from.
Through this project I hope to put a human element to the effects of poverty in the community and looking at Positive Youth Development Theory and research from around the world to show the importance of human connection and addressing the holes in the social support system we need to show the youth that they are not where they come from. No one is the factors to which they cannot control.
As I was going through life, I heard so often: "Step 1: you graduate. Step 2: you leave". The sentiment was that if you stay, you will not get a job and will have no opportunity to thrive. So many individuals who live here share this perspective. When I first began this project, I thought it was only my generation, but as I have spoken to individuals, even those younger than myself, they hear it even now.
One of the best quotes I have heard about Cape Breton is one I heard from my father many times. These values were also instilled in me. My father and I volunteered hundreds of hours a week in my community. He was asked one day, "Why do it?". He would simply look at the person and say, "Last time I checked, we are from Cape Breton, right?". Cape Bretoners, we help people just because we can. If you can help, then you help. Such a simple statement, yet with so much meaning. Because I was brought up so immersed in my community and with these values, it has influenced everything I do.
Poverty in Cape Breton
Why is the poverty rate in Cape Breton so high?
Money is loaded with meanings. It guides how people see themselves and others. It shapes what we think of as moral or good. As economic sociologists like Viviana Zelizer have shown, money transforms-and is itself transformed by— our values and relationships. Because of the meanings embedded in money, poverty's harms are not only financial; they are also social and emotional. Poverty, as bell hooks explains, can be "a mark of shame, a sign that one is not worthy or chosen." (Sandelson, 2023)
Sydney- Victoria Electoral District has the 11th highest Child poverty rate
Children under 18 had a higher poverty rate in 2022 compared to working age individuals and seniors. Childhood poverty increases the chances that children will also live in poverty as adults. It is because of this, further shows the need to eradicate child poverty. With the eradication of child poverty we would see the effects span over generations.
The story of Poverty in Cape Breton can be linked back to the Coal and Steel Industries on the island. When you look into Cape Breton’s History in the book Perseverance Has Triumphed for Cape Breton University’s 50th Anniversary, reference is made to 1961, when 50% of the working age group in Cape Breton were working within the steel and coal industries.
Picture Citation: Peacey, J. (2015). Sydney Steel Corporation. In The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/sydney-steel-corporation
Following this, on October 13th of the same year came a day locally known as “black Friday.” DOSCO, also known as Dominion Steel and Coal Corporation, announced the closure of the Sydney Steel Mill, terminating 3200 jobs directly and many more thousands of jobs indirectly. By the end of the year 1967 job security for both the Coal miners and Steel Mill workers had vanished. We can see the effects of these closure today in 2025.
Historically vulnerable young people were defined as "Risky" and "Problems to be solved" (Saunders,2023)
The Perfect Storm
The story of my home town.
