HOMELESSNESS AND POVERTY

No Vacancy: YWCA Offers Alternative to the Street

I am not struggling to find a place to live in Calgary. I've lived in the same neighborhood since I moved here 11 years ago and we just paid off our house. We live in a great inner city neighborhood with fabulous neighbors and lots of children and dogs.

I also don't struggle to put food on the table. If I ever experience hunger, it's because I got too busy at work and didn't get a chance to have my third snack after lunch. I don't know what it's like to choose rent money over food. My kids' meals over my own.

If you're like many Calgarians, you've heard all about the Housing Crisis-from the comfort of your own home. And while you probably do care about the many low-income families who can't afford a proper place to live, the problem is too big and far too daunting to imagine being able to help.

There are as many as 1750 - 2000 people on a waiting list through the Calgary Housing Company, a City-run operation that manages about 7300 affordable or subsidized housing units. The City of Calgary defines affordable housing as adequate housing for low-income families at costs below the general market. This includes emergency shelters, transitional housing, and social or subsidized housing as well as formal and informal rental.

Affordable, in this sense, is likely not the same definition as yours or mine. It's what separates the home from the homeless. It's what someone might be able to afford on less than $10.00 an hour (read: $19,200 per year) or on Income Support. It's the shelter a young mother takes her children in the middle of the night after a particularly violent episode. Or the church basements they move between, night after night.

The number of homeless people in Calgary-including women in emergency and transitional housing-is up by 32% compared to two years ago. And this figure is underestimated because of the countless "concealed homeless" populations, who sleep on a friend's couch or in family member's basement.

But for many women and children-fleeing domestic violence and the threat of poverty or women suffering addictions or mental health issues-housing is only part of the solution. At the YWCA Mary Dover House, a 96-bed transitional residence for women and children in crisis, most of the women require a continuation of service after they leave for the very reasons that brought them to Mary Dover House in the first place.

The YWCA Mary Dover House is located within the YWCA's downtown office on the corner of 5th Avenue SE and Macleod Trail. You've probably seen the signs for the YWCA Fitness on 5th facility many times heading out of town. But perhaps you were not aware of the bigger picture the YWCA represents? There are three secure floors of dorm-style rooms on floors 4, 5 and 6. Secure, meaning you have to have a security card to get access and men are absolutely forbidden. The average stay is 6 months but women are staying longer due to the housing crisis and some come back for support. In the case of domestic violence, until a woman is self-sufficient enough-a stable income, stable childcare and supports-she is much more likely to return to the abusing spouse when things get grim. Addictions, mental illness, sexual abuse, single parenting, financial instability, language and culture, substandard housing-are just a few of the barriers our clients face.

Room rates for Mary Dover House clients are based on what they are able to pay. All other services and programs are at no cost to them. Because many are on Income Support at $402 per month, the YWCA continually tries to supplement their meals with food donations, trips to the Food Bank or food vouchers. The women each have mini fridges and microwaves in their rooms and share several common living rooms with kitchen and television sets. One large community kitchen is on the 4th floor where women can meet to cook group meals. The 4th floor also houses a part-time nurse, funded through the Victoria Order of Nurses, a food pantry, shared laundry facility and a donations room where they can pick from donated clothes, shoes, and small houseware items. There's a new children's playroom stocked with new toys and a resource area, a computer, and several resident counseling offices. On this day, the house is full. 90 women and 6 small children call Mary Dover House their home.

Some women call ahead to book a room; they were most likely referred to Mary Dover House through another community agency or there's word on the street that you can get help here. Sometimes, they come straight from the emergency shelter, the hospital or police station. Still others come by cab with three kids in tow and little English. You can't be drinking or using or bringing men up to your room-or you're out. This is a place to learn new life skills. To get connected to other resources like Legal Aid, housing, job supports, AADAC, the Food Bank, a church group or a supportive network. It's a big part of what the counselors do-connecting women to critical resources-so important to accomplishing positive steps in their lives.

"I had nowhere to go. And no money. I didn't know where to go, I felt ashamed, I wasn't sure if it was just me and my head. I had two kids. I didn't want to break up the family but it got to the point where the atmosphere was so terrible that I just knew I had to go. For me the YWCA was not just housing, it is a home. While I was there I felt motivated to get my life on track even though it was tough to be alone with my 2 children."

Would a $100 help? Would a monthly contribution really make a difference? If you want to know exactly what your $100 will get, it wouldn't sound like much. No, it's not going to solve the affordable housing problem today. And it's not going to eradicate domestic violence. You're right. But your hundred dollars together with someone' else's hundred dollars and someone else's hundred dollars, and so on and so on, will feed a young mother and her two children above for many nights. It will ensure she has a place to live for a while. It will give her time to step out of crisis mode and start planning her future. But it all happens with the YWCA's support. And your support to us. Tomorrow, she will wake up and thank you.

FACTS AND FIGURES

• Over 3,400 men, women, and children were counted as 'homeless' in May 2006 by the City of Calgary. This is equivalent to having the entire town of Three Hills (Alberta) living without a home within our city limits.
• An average of 2,800 people use homeless shelters every night in Calgary.
• On any given night in Calgary, 145 families, with children, will sleep in a homeless shelter.
• Fifty-three per cent of those without a home are suffering from some form of mental illness. Over 30 per cent suffer from some form of addiction.
• Over 58,000 Calgary low-income households (household income under $38,000/ann.) spend more than 30% of their income on accommodation. This puts them one paycheque, or one family crisis, away from homelessness. Many of these households include children.
• Half of Calgarians who are absolutely homeless right now have a job, but are simply not making enough to afford appropriate accommodation. (2002 Calgary Homelessness Study)
• Those working full-time for minimum wage ($7/hr.) will gross approximately $1,200/month, which means they could afford no more than $360/month for housing costs. In 2005 the average market rent for a bachelor suite was $524, and the average one bedroom was $666. (CMHC 2005)
• Tenants in Calgary can expect rents to increase by ten per cent this year. Such increases will translate into an $81 per month increase for a two-bedroom unit, reaching $889. (CMHC Housing Market Outlook Spring 2006)
• Rising rents have placed low-income seniors (aged 55+) at significant risk of becoming homeless.
• 109,862 Calgarians came to the Calgary Inter-faith Food Bank last year (42% were children).
• In 2004, Calgary Housing Company reported a 100% increase in their wait list for affordable housing.
• Many of those on wait lists, individuals and families, are directly at risk of becoming homeless if housing options do not become available.
• The City of Calgary estimates that by 2008, approximately 19,000 households could be at-risk for homelessness. (City of Calgary 2005 Socio-Economic Outlook)

From the Calgary Homeless Foundation