Hi, I’m Brenda MacIntyre, Medicine Song Woman. I’m an independent Indigenous recording artist, healer, spiritual mentor and grieving mother. Through my music and speaking business, I help women to find their voice and get through difficult transitions.

UPDATE: Due to unforeseen additional moving expenses, exhaustion and a chronic pain flare-up, I've updated the amount needed for this fundraiser, so I can have time to get through recovery from my big move.

My son was senselessly murdered in 2016 and the murder trial just ended in June 2019. I made an album during the trial, for my own sanity and to help others with grief, trauma and loss. In September 2019 I had a bad fall that left me mostly housebound, and then the pandemic hit. Since I’m immunocompromised with lung damage, I’ve been mostly self-isolating this entire time.

What most people don’t know about me is that my living conditions became dangerous for my mental and physical health to the point that I had no choice but to move. After living in substandard Indigenous housing, I developed lung damage, chronic sinus infections, year-round allergies, memory loss, worsened headaches and more. I have occasional lung pain and honestly I’m not sure if it’s from having COVID-19 in January 2020 or if it’s from the mould in my apartment's walls.

Beyond many other issues, the place I just moved out of has an infestation with pests (carpenter bees, wasps, carpenter ants and spiders) that reached an all-time high last summer, along with our recent discovery of mould (left: mould in my bedroom, centre: living room water damage, right: one of two wasp colonies in my roof).

With your help, I have been able to move on March 2nd to a safe healthy home that inspires me so that I can continue my important work.

Now it's time for me to recover from this lung damage, unpack and settle into my new safe, healthy home and recover financially from the 3 big leaps I've just made that cost me a lot more than I had anticipated.

I’ve used my creativity and income during this pandemic (and CERB when I had it) to grow, heal, invest in my business, and get ready for 3 big scary leaps in my life. For my own health and safety, I had to make these 3 leaps all at once (!!) and I need your help to recover from all of that, so I can have an even greater impact with helping women to grow their resilience and find their voice.

PACKING TIME!

Leap #1: Move to London Ontario - MISSION ACCOMPLISHED, thanks to you.

I gave my 60 days notice to the landlord on New Years Eve (!!), so I had to move by March 1st (and they gave me an extra day to get everything out). I lived in the same rent-geared-to-income apartment for the past 16 years, to help me build my business and continue healing after fleeing an abusive relationship as a single mom. After years of intense personal growth, hard work and investment in my business, I was poised with a powerful plan for my business growth when I received the shocking news on January 31st, 2016 about my son.

Why now and why London? Even in my nice midtown Toronto neighbourhood, I was mugged in 2019 on my way to the gym on a busy, well-populated street in broad daylight. We’ve also had various ongoing shootings including one at the foot of my street and a drive-by minutes away, both in Fall 2020.

Thankfully my daughter moved to London Ontario where she feels safe and now I have as well. I was able to get a safe, normal 1 bedroom apartment in a good area in London for about 60% of what it would've cost me to get a tiny basement bachelor unit in a bad neighbourhood in Toronto. My daughter (below) Facetimed me for apartment viewings until I found the new apartment I'm in now.

Leap #2 & #3: Get Off Social Assistance and Subsidized Housing - MISSION ACCOMPLISHED, thanks to you!

When the traumatic loss of my son caused chronic pain, complicated grief and C-PTSD, I had to go bankrupt and get on provincial disability. During the past 5 years I've done everything in my power to grieve and recover (osteopath, naturopath, therapist, homicide loss support group and counseling, and more). The next clear step – and my therapist agrees - is to move.

It has taken a lot of work, therapy and physical rehab to get back to sharing my gifts after losing my son but living and working in a mould and pest-infested environment (my office is in my home) took a noticeable toll on my health and capacity to work and sing.

The difficulty with being on disability (ODSP) and subsidized housing while running a business is you can’t make more than $200 net without the government clawing back (decreasing) your next payments by 50-100% of your earnings. Meanwhile, subsidized rent goes up and down based on your income.

This required me to “use it or lose it, meaning I have to spend all business income on my business within the month I receive it, or risk losing most of my earnings. Thus, I’ve invested a lot in my business during the pandemic but I couldn't get ahead unless I could break free of this trap, and for that I have needed funding that ODSP can’t take away from me. That’s where your contribution comes in. I am now off ODSP but have depleted a lot of my finances due to the move costing me much more than I had anticipated both physically (with chronic pain) and financially.

🔥 LEAP #4 - HOW YOUR CONTRIBUTION WILL ASSIST ME:

Your contribution will help me STAYin this an accessible, healthy, properly maintained apartment near my daughter in London. I have her immediate help and I'm no longer completely isolated (my parents died many years ago). I no longer have to hurt myself doing 3 flights of stairs, I now need to detox from the mould exposure, heal my lungs so I can breathe and sing more freely, and finally feel safe going for a walk in the neighbourhood once my body is up for it. 

My daughter told me she's already experiencing a decrease in sinus issues from the mould in our old apartment and the daily headaches she had started to have... are gone! I can expect the same for me!

Plus I am now surrounded by so much more nature, which is very healing for me, and of course since I was all alone and isolated in Toronto, having my daughter nearby is soothing for my soul.

It is only with the help of so many of you that I could leap out of the traps of Indigenous substandard housing and provincial disability, and now I need your help to:

1. Recover from the huge chronic pain and C-PTSD flareups, physical exhaustion and toxic mould effects.

2. Since my rent has TRIPLED I need your help right now to recover and grow my ability to serve more women through my business and spend more time singing and creating healing music.

HOW YOU CAN HELP:

1. Donate to this fundraiser.

2. Please share this page. If you share to social media, please make your post public and say a little about why you're support this fundraiser, so that your friends can share it too and so they know why.

Your Contribution Will Go Towards:

Rest and Recovery. While my daughter helps me to unpack and settle in, I need to take things very slow and practice extreme self-care to calm down the major chronic pain and C-PTSD flareups. I don't yet have the physical capacity to do all that is required to immediately expand the business. I'm exhausted and in pain every day just from a little bit of work. I know my body and mind very well, and it will be able to settle over the next few weeks enough to begin this new adventure.

Unexpected Moving Expenses.  Moving took several more hours than we expected (12 instead of 7!!), so it cost a lot more, even though the pricing was reasonable and fair for their professional services. 

Rent. I was hoping for an apartment I was unable to get due to going bankrupt after my son was murdered, and the one I found is even better but it also comes with a much higher price tag. While I'm incredibly grateful to be living here now, I am also aware that I need to create a lot more money much more quickly for these 3 big leaps to work. I know that I will, with your help, and after a few weeks of recovery, I'll be able to re-expand the business.

What Next? With ODSP and subsidized housing no longer holding me back, once the chronic pain and C-PTSD flareups settle down in a few weeks, I can confidently begin to book virtual clients and gigs for the rest of the year so my business can sustain me and I can help more women find their voice and build their resilience. 

What I Have Accomplished So Far with Your Support - THANK YOU TO ALL MY SUPPORTERS!! 

Professional movers. Done! I can’t lift anything and can barely get down the stairs in here. My daughter has chronic pain too. I need professional movers who will do ALL the moving for me, from here in Toronto to London Ontario.

“First and Last” . Subsidized housing didn’t require last month’s rent, so I needed first and last month’s rent – but of course I couldn't save it, because the government could just take it away the following month, leaving me with nothing. 

The Time to Pack, Move and Unpack while Grieving My Son. My son’s death anniversary was January 31st and the funeral was February 27th. The murder trial only ended last summer. This time of year I have chronic pain and PTSD flare-ups, so I need time off from the business to grieve and attend virtual wellness and therapy appointments.

I had to be moved out by March 1st. It’s been a lot for me to manage, but your support lightened the load.

NOW.. your contribution and sharing this with your friends will help me focus on my recovery and make the 4th big leap of re-expanding my business to help more women find their voice and grow their resilience.

Check out the new place! Can you spot my cat Pixie? 😹

Chi Miigwech! Thank you so much for your support! 

Blessings,

Brenda