How one N.S. town is working with people with disabilities toward a barrier-free community

Hannah Corkum's weekly schedule is usually quite busy. The 23-year-old Annapolis Valley woman is a sledge hockey athlete and horseback rider. 

With her mother, Shelley Corkum, she runs a vintage shop called Retro Hippo Stay and Play Boutique. 

But of all the places she goes, there's an important place she can't: the stone steps at the front entrance to the Kentville Town Hall. 

That's because Corkum was born with cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair, and the building's main entrance is not wheelchair accessible. 

Even the rear entrance, which has an angled wooden ramp, is difficult for her to use without assistance. It's too steep and has a lip at the door. 

It's "a little frustrating," Corkum said in a recent interview. 

"Sometimes my wheelchair slides backwards on the ramp and it's kind of hard for it to get up." 

That's not the way it's supposed to be, according to the province's Accessibility Act, which states a goal of becoming "accessible by 2030." CBC News recently learned the province of Nova Scotia acknowledges it won't be barrier-free by that date, although it will have standards and enforcement in place.

But nothing prevents other organizations from trying to hit that goal, and the Town of Kentville says it means to try for it anyway.

To Shelley Corkum, an accessible province by 2030 would mean more independence for her daughter and many others. 

"I'd like to say it'd be a sigh of relief because we've been waiting for a long time," she said. 

Last October, Kentville had an architect do an "accessibility audit" on town hall, comparing it to the proposed built environment standard. 

The Corkums helped verify the architect's work. Hannah Corkum said she wanted to do it because of her difficulty on the ramps and in the building's bathrooms. 

Shelley Corkum hoped it would make people's lives easier.