Homeless in Happy Valley
Newfoundland and Labrador's minister of human resources, Shawn Skinner, recently announced that the province will spend $10-million over the next 5 years to finance renovations to public housing units.
The province-wide investment will fund expenditures related to interior renovations and retrofitting - with a hope that the improvements will help decrease maintenance costs.
While many of Newfoundland & Labrador's public housing units have been long overdue for an overhaul, a more pressing need for many families and individuals is the creation of new residences.
In Happy Valley-Goose Bay, there is a significant housing shortage that has forced many people to sleep and live outdoors. Jacko Merkuratsuk and his pregnant girlfriend - who is due in October - are currently sleeping in a tent donated to them by the Labrador Friendship Centre. Mr. Merkuratsuk is persistently searching for a home for his new family, but has had no luck so far.
Without a permanent address, access to the internet, or a telephone, Mr. Merkuratsuk has also admitted that it is near impossible to find a job. With his first child on the way, however, he hasn't yet given up hope.
Mr. Merkuratsuk and his family aren't alone. In Happy-Valley Goose Bay there are currently 20 families on the waiting list for access to affordable housing. With soaring food and fuel costs, the demand for public assistance is higher than ever. In Newfoundland and Labrador, where the unemployment rate is twice the 6.2% national average, more and more people are finding it difficult to cover basic costs.
In Happy Valley, a city almost 8000 people, there is rumoured to be a high rate of homelessness but the exact numbers remain incredibly difficult to verify because most individuals in the area are not "visible" homeless. They are "couch surfers" and transient homeless who move from east to west, especially during the harsh winter months.
Without hard numbers, it is impossible to make any level of government acknowledge the escalating housing crisis. The Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation - the provincial body responsible for public housing - is not willing to commit the necessary funds to construct any new housing units.
Mr. Skinner responded to the CBC story detailing the plight of the families currently on the waitlist, saying that there are possible short-term solutions (Mr. Merkuratsuk and his family, for example, could apply for a stay in a transition house or a subsidized hotel room).
Mr. Skinner was also pleased to report that help is on the way: a community based non-profit organization has taken matters into its own hands and will be building affordable housing units which should be completed by 2010 - around the time that Mr. Merkuratsuk's child turns two.
