Like so many other people with health issues, singer-songwriter Peggy Gillis found the recovery from illness was an economic struggle as well as a physical toil. That was why she turned to the Entrepreneurs with Disabilities Network, or EDN, for some help.

“I’ve had to start from scratch because when you get sick it robs you of all your finances,” said Gillis in an interview last week.

A few years ago, Gillis made extra money by selling her songs through the pay-per-play website mp3.com, but then she was felled by illness, suffering from chronic fatigue, environmental sensitivities and back ailments. As she recovered, she realized that the cyber-landscape had changed and she needed help regenerating the online revenue that was so important to her financial wellbeing.

She began to work with computer science students from Dalhousie University, who designed her website www.peggygillis.com, and  she touched base with EDN. The network put her in touch with Students in Free Enterprise, or SIFE, a group at St. Mary’s University, which is working with her on a national marketing plan to drive fans to her site.

“We try to hook people up,” said Brian Aird, the Executive Director of EDN, over a coffee. “We work with our members to help wean them off us without losing touch with us, so they’re so self-reliant but not on their own.”

The EDN has about 450 members from across Nova Scotia, which Aird considers remarkably low penetration when you consider that about one-fifth of the population suffers from a disability. About three-quarters of these members are now running businesses while a quarter are working toward starting a business. He says the members are skewed toward the arts, and many are small business-people as opposed to entrepreneurs in the high-growth space. There are a lot of inventors, though he admits too few of them are producing innovation for which there is a market. Many are on some form of assistance, and Aird says the network aims to work with these people so they can support themselves in their businesses.

“Once they start earning some money and they’re happy with their family, they don’t see themselves as being disadvantaged,” said Aird. “They just believe they have a condition.”

What Aird described was not a structured program so much as a series of events and helping hands to assist individuals depending on their circumstances. For example, once a year the EDN hosts a forum at The Keg steak house in Halifax, so entrepreneurs with disabilities can meet one on one with professional service providers, whether they’re lawyers, accountants, business advisers or whatever. Aird describes it as a “spectacular” event, because the entrepreneurs receive not only mentoring but also a rare chance to relax in a nice restaurant.

The network is also working hard to strike corporate alliances so the small businesses can become suppliers to large business. Aird cited Encana, which has undertaken not only to buy local in Nova Scotia but also to work with under-presented businesses in the economy, such as those owned by natives and people with disabilities. Aird said his members are notified whenever the energy giant is posting a tender or seeking services.

He added that the EDN is evolving and looking at new programs, seeking new partners. It’s working closely with the Nova Scotia Department of Community Services to find new ways of helping individuals start businesses and of helping these businesses to thrive.

“We’re really good at what we do and we want to get better,” said Aird. “We want to help people get ahead so they can move on with their lives.”