Jenn Whalen is shedding hope.
“You don’t know what it’s like until you’re the one on your knees, and you’ve got to try and stand up and keep going. When you don’t have help and there’s no light at the end of the tunnel. You want to give up,” stated the Kincardine mom.
The house Whalen and her three youngsters have rented close to Kincardine since 2021 is being torn right down to make means for a industrial improvement.
She must be out of the home in 5 days with no place to go.
“I have three adult children with me. Two of them are disabled. We pool our money together to try and make things better and try to afford something, and even that doesn’t work,” she stated.
Whalen has been gathering Ontario Incapacity Assist Program (ODSP) funds since 2010 as a consequence of a degenerative disc illness, fibromyalgia, and two types of arthritis.
She stated the scarcity of rental housing, the skyrocketing value of what’s obtainable, and her authorities capped revenue, means she has discovered nobody prepared to hire to her and her youngsters with subsequent Tuesday’s eviction looming.
“There’s a lot of people that once they hear we’re on ODSP, we face the discrimination of them not wanting us. They believe the rumours that people on ODSP are low-lifes or ‘druggies.’ A lot of us are just regular people who have gotten sick, who didn’t ask for this life. We just want to live. A roof over our heads. Food on the table. Bills paid,” she stated, frustratingly.
Francesca Dobbyn, govt director of the Bruce-Gray United Approach, stated she has by no means seen so many individuals dwelling in poverty and going through homeless throughout the area.
“This is absolutely the worst I’ve seen. Everything is definitely over $1,500-$1,600 a month, whether or not it’s [the] right size. I saw a one-bedroom in Port Elgin, 800 square feet, for $2,000 a month, not rent controlled. How is anybody earning minimum wage or just trying to get by going to afford that? If you’ve got multiple family members, 800 square feet isn’t enough,” stated Dobbyn.
Whalen is hoping for a miracle at this level, as her and her household face homelessness once more.
“Before this place, I was homeless for three years in a hotel. Now I’m facing it again. When we all found out we’re facing homelessness again, me and my kids broke down and cried because we’re scared,” stated Whalen.
There are at the moment greater than 200 homeless individuals in Gray and Bruce Counties, with extra becoming a member of that listing each single day, stated Dobbyn.
Whalen and her household will seemingly be part of that listing too come subsequent Tuesday.
