Feeling Betrayed by the MS Society of Canada

[msathlete]

Hi there

I am typically not active in forums however in this instance I feel compelled to speak up.

I recently learned that the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada closing the doors to the MS Centre located in Victoria Canada. The Centre has been open for over 40 years and has become the home to many providing a variety of services including physiotherapy, gym, art, newly diagnosed workshops, monthly lunches and a drop in community space.

The MS Society will be referring those currently receiving physiotherapy through the centre for $50/hr to private clinics where they will have to pay $125/hr. Many of these people live in wheel chairs and earn little more than $1000 per/moth. I am frighted for my friends.

The Society will also be giving all of our gym equipment to private clinics and gyms. We will now have to pay to access the equipment - even though we are the ones who raised the money for the equipment.

This all seems so wrong.

We have set up a petition on change.org to send a clear message to the MS Society of Canada telling them this is wrong and they need to preserve the centre. Every time someone signs it the board and staff receive a letter asking them to give the centre back to the people it belongs to.

Please help us by sharing the message and signing the petition.

https://www.change.org/p/petition-to-sa ... sis-centre

[magster]

I'm in Canada as well. I must say that the MS Society in Toronto is as useless as tits on a bull!

Good luck with your project!

[ElliotB]

My dad passed away almost 20 years ago and was diagnosed almost 40 years prior with MS and the MS Society of Canada was pretty much useless even back then, although even since then no one really knows much [more] about the disease now than they did back then, so what could they even do even now [if they were a credible organization]? Actually, at this time, there is little any organization or doctor can do for us IMHO.

[jimmylegs]

sorry to hear about victoria's chapter office. i'm in canada too and i phoned the local ms society chapter once only, when i was in that first frantic phase post dx. i was so turned off from that one conversation that i never called again or ever went there in person. no idea what i might have been missing over the past decade. i hope your local chapter can pull in the necessary support, because it sounds like that office is doing some good at least!

[HarryZ]

I am typically not active in forums however in this instance I feel compelled to speak up.

I recently learned that the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada closing the doors to the MS Centre located in Victoria Canada. The Centre has been open for over 40 years and has become the home to many providing a variety of services including physiotherapy, gym, art, newly diagnosed workshops, monthly lunches and a drop in community space.

Did you happen to see what the execs salaries happen to be....the CEO was about $ 350,000 and there were 6 others above $ 150,000. (it's been a few weeks since I read the article in the paper so I could be out a little on these numbers but not a huge amount)

And they said that they had to close the chapter as it was too expensive to operate the way they were!!