HALIFAX – Mary Sheaves, a single mother of two, has been struggling to make ends meet for years.
Sheaves said she has been enrolled in Nova Scotia’s Maintenance Enforcement Program (MEP) for more than 16 years and has never received a single payment owed to her by her children’s father during that time.
“Maintenance enforcement has never done a thing for me or my children,” she said. “They’ve always made me do all the work, it’s like I’m doing their job.”
Sheaves is also living on social assistance, and said she decided to go public with her struggle because she simply could not afford to do it alone anymore. She has been struggling to pay her bills and is worried her power could be disconnected any day.
“My power is going to be disconnected because I can’t afford it,” she said.
Sheaves has already received a final notice of disconnection from Nova Scotia Power threatening to cut her off if she doesn’t set up an arrangement to pay her nearly $3,000 bill.
This is Sheaves' final notice of disconnection. @nspowerinc says disconnections are a last resort. #NS #NSpoli 1/2 pic.twitter.com/BdimefiAUG
— Mayya Assouad (@Mayya_Global) March 6, 2015A spokesperson with Nova Scotia Power said the option to disconnect a customer is the utility’s last resort, and that it would not disconnect a customer’s power unless temperatures are forceast to be above freezing for a week.
Both the province’s Maintenance Enforcement Program, which is a division of the Justice department, and the Community Services department, declined our request for an interview, but provided a joint statement, it reads in part:
“We certainly don’t want to see any family struggling to pay their power bills and want to encourage your contact to get in touch with her caseworker at maintenance enforcement and/or community services. if she still has concerns she has the right, in both cases, to ask to speak with a supervisor.”
Late on Friday afternoon, after Global News began researching the story, the power utility said it was able to work out a solution with Community Services to cover Sheaves’s unpaid bill.
Just in: Mary Sheaves will not have her power cut off. @nspowerinc & #NS Community Services worked out a solution pic.twitter.com/gqw7Cq1EQl
— Mayya Assouad (@Mayya_Global) March 6, 2015It’s a development that took Sheaves by surprise.
She says she feels “fantastic,” and feels”like I just won the lottery.”
A review into the province’s Maintenance Enforcement Program is currently underway, it’s expected to be done this spring.
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