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- cross-posted to:
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and more and more people will become homeless. hell it’s already happening.
I was homeless years ago and thankfully got out of it. But when I was homeless, getting off the streets was an absolute cake walk compared to today. How much did it take me to save to do it? $1500 total. that’s it. that was working a part time job and saving enough for first and last. that $1500 included first and last AND money for clothes to interview/work as well as food. And that was only 10 years ago. It took me all of maybe, MAYBE, 2 months once I decided to get my shit together.
Now I volunteer for a food bank and community centre/drop-in and weekly, almost daily, you see new faces. And I’m not talking mentally ill or addict faces, I’m talking regular sane sober scared men, women, and children who have fallen with absolutely zero nets to save them. MOST work too. It’s the same stories over and over again. Landlord kept increasing the rent, Landlord decided to move in, Landlord decided to renovate in order to increase the rent for someone else, can’t afford food, can’t afford clothes, etc, etc, etc.
They all want help and we can only provide what we have which isn’t much at all because the Canadian Government sure as shit ain’t helping. The meals we provide the portions have gotten smaller simply because we don’t have enough to cook for everyone. We don’t have enough food to give out a few times a week cause the lineups will be around the block and we’re hardly getting any donations in cause no one can afford to donate. We’re running out of blankets, socks, hygiene stuff cause again no one can afford to donate that stuff. We’ve given up with shelter referrals cause they’re all full where over 50% of the clients living in shelters are refugees leaving Canadians to rough it outside. We’ve started handing out tents to people when we get them in. I cried the other day because I handed a child sized tent to a kid with his family and I had NEVER done that before. I’m used to dealing with the Homeless mentally ill and addicts. I’m used to telling them how to survive outside in the winter. I’m NOT used to telling a 7 year old boy how to set up a tent, how to layer his sleeping bags, and how to stay warm IF he and his family isn’t off the streets by this winter. It’s sick, It’s disgusting. It’s absolutely infuriating and if it doesn’t make your blood boil and demand change and demand it now then you’re dead inside.
I’ve emailed politicians left right and center. I’ve emailed Ford, Trudeau even Chow and countless upon countless MPPs and I’ve challenged them all, dared them, to stop by my community centre and look that 7 year old boy dead in the eyes and tell him WHY he can’t have his own bedroom, why he has to sleep outside, why the shelters are full, why his parents can’t afford to provide for him, why there’s no where affordable to live. these “leaders” are all cowards not a single one as responded and taken me up on my offer. They don’t care, none of them care.
Heads on pikes, then they’ll care.
It really is sad that in the last 20 years under libs and conservatives the best things about Canada are slowly being whittled away. The compassionate egalitarian society is being torn to shreds.
I really hate these CBC articles where they talk about a huge, legitimate issue, but undercut it by choosing a crazy/unrelated example:
Charmbury, 47, has to make sacrifices because 100 per cent of her income goes to her rent.
She had to sell her house after her divorce and now pays $2,679 per month for a three-bedroom townhouse in the same neighbourhood. She didn’t want her children, a teen boy and teen girl, to have to switch schools or share a bedroom.
So, she’s been cashing in her investments. Child support helps with the bills, her mother helps her with groceries and her friends give her their old clothes. She says she barely sleeps from the stress.
Even 30 years ago, I had friends who had to change schools/share a room when their parents divorced. Putting someone who refuses to make tough decisions and try live within her means in the same category as adults who have to live with multiple roommates, face homelessness, etc. is insulting.
Also, I’m pretty sure most would say child support is income, even if it’s not taxable income. She’s spending 100% of her employment income/paycheques on rent.
I really hate these CBC articles where they talk about a huge, legitimate issue, but undercut it by choosing a crazy/unrelated example
So a Woman is forced to sell her home in a divorce, and to ensure her children don’t get upended in a very difficult part of their lives, sacrifices every cent she makes to stay in the same area for them and you think that is an “unrelated example”?
Even 30 years ago, I had friends who had to change schools/share a room when their parents divorced. Putting someone who refuses to make tough decisions and try live within her means in the same category as adults who have to live with multiple roommates, face homelessness, etc. is insulting.
What is insulting is your complete lack of empathy for your “friends” who were forced into that growing up, and your attack on this Woman for not putting her children through that.
Also, I’m pretty sure most would say child support is income, even if it’s not taxable income. She’s spending 100% of her employment income/paycheques on rent.
Yes, and 100% of that support is supposed to go to the children it is paid to. Not for her to use on other things.
In case it isn’t clear, your comment is absolutely disgusting and tone deaf. You should reflect on why you feel the need to attack people who are struggling when it is clear to me from your lack of empathy you have no idea what a real struggle looks like.
Relax.
While choosing to live outside their means, for their children, is commendable, it’s not a great example of the problem. Many people never have the opportunity to make that choice at all and are now homeless as a result.
It is a good example because it shows everyone that who is next on the block.
Ya’ll didn’t give a fuck until now and I am the poor kid trying to hold their empathy while everyone cries about their last 5 years that has been my last 35. If I can have empathy for this Woman who very likely would have crossed the street for me back in the day you can to. I had nothing and was homeless as a result numerous times in my childhood, teen years, and early adult life. One shouldn’t have to hit the bottom to be heard.
Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good and stop competing in the Trauma Olympics.
You aren’t helping anyone by doing either.
Personally, I feel the attention would be better focused on the many people who can no longer afford shelter at all. I think a lot of people don’t realize just how close they are to being in the same situation, through no fault of their own.
This isn’t the first article I’ve read about the housing crisis that felt disconnected from reality. A few weeks ago it was the tragic story of a family earning a six figure income who had to downsize from a 3200 sq ft home to a 2400 sq ft. It just feels disingenuous that these are the issues they decide to report on while a quickly growing number of people can only afford to live in tents.
Doesn’t really feel comparable, to me.
CBC didn’t post this article to lemmy, OP did. If you care so damn much about tent cities, the homeless, and the struggles of the lower class how about you take initiative and post the articles yourself?
People are struggling, and one last time for you and your lack of empathy, One shouldn’t have to hit the bottom to be heard.
Peace brother, may your tomorrow be brighter than today.
You make a lot of assumptions about me and my experiences, and frankly, they’re 100% wrong. I wasn’t trying to insinuated that her situation is easy, I even say it’s “making tough decisions”.
When one refuses to speak, the other is forced to make assumptions. Frankly, I don’t care if you say I am wrong. I can read, I have heard these words from others, and know who I am dealing with.
I would bet 3:1 that you have nothing serious in your past that you could prove to me. I would bet 100:1 that I could not prove my bullshit life to you and I lived it. Get the point?
I don’t think you will, so the point is, you attacked a person for being a bad example because they are struggling and not at rock bottom because people exist at the bottom.
If you had ever been there you would know better, so I stand by my assessment. Don’t bother responding, I won’t waste further time with you.
Stay well.
you attacked a person for being a bad example because they are struggling and not at rock bottom because people exist at the bottom.
That’s not my intentions. I question her choices, but that doesn’t mean she has an option that would 100% fix her situation. It would probably be hard to find a 2-bedroom for $1500/mo and she’d still have over 50% of her paycheque going to housing.
My concern is articles highlighting cases like this allow people to disregard the housing crisis as just people unwilling to tighten their belts. Like “stop eating avocado toast” or “cancel Disney+”, there’s no quick fix.
She had to sell her house after her divorce and now pays $2,679 per month for a three-bedroom townhouse in the same neighbourhood. She didn’t want her children, a teen boy and teen girl, to have to switch schools or share a bedroom
Then… What did selling the house achieve…?
She probably didn’t qualify to take on the whole mortgage without her ex-Spouse.
Understood. I’ve only recently been learning how much Canadian mortgages force their lendees to “readjust” to new conditions. In the US you can generally keep the initial terms shy of a refinance or foreclosure
Can you provide any local insight as to whether you can find a decent house at a lower rate than that?
I know housing affordability is a shit show there and that lady isn’t making enough no matter what she does but I’m curious how much she could have lowered that percentage
I’m pretty sure she’d be in the same situation in the US. Assuming the house was jointly owned and she had the ability to buy out her ex-Spouse’s equity or get the whole home in the divorce, there would still be a change of ownership, so she’d need to get a new mortgage solely in her name.
I know I’ve heard of couples splitting up and coming up with creative solutions, like continuing to jointly own the house, but that doesn’t seem to be the case here.
It might have been part of the divorce, selling the house and splitting the profits.
Someone had to pay their lawyer.