A place to land, then back to abuse? Vancouver Island woman flags housing gap
A place to land, then back to abuse? Vancouver Island woman flags housing gap
If you’re experiencing domestic abuse, Victim Link BC is available 24/7. Please call or text 1-800-563-0808 or email VictimLinkBC@bc211.ca. Additionally, the Vancouver Island Crisis Line can point you to the right supports for your region. Call 1-888-494-3888.
A Vancouver Island woman has managed to get out of an abusive home, but fears she’ll soon be right back where she started.
Julie, a pseudonym CTV News is using to protect her identity, said she’s been calling housing providers for months. She gets the same answer every time: There’s no space available.
The single mother said she lucked out last week, when a loved-one introduced her to a housing support worker they happened to know.
“I find it really strange that I’ve been calling all the time trying to get a spot for months and can’t because I'm told there are waitlists, and (the support worker) makes one phone call and I’m able to get in,” Julie said.
She and her son moved into a transition house on March 10.
“He keeps asking me, ‘Are we going to go and get a house, you and me, mommy?’” she said.
Stays at the transition house are limited to 30 days, so Julie said she fears they’ll have nowhere to go once the time is up.
“It’s an unsettling feeling not knowing where you’re going to be in 30 days,” she said.
B.C.’s Housing Ministry said transition homes can grant extensions, especially given the ongoing housing crisis.
“When someone makes the courageous decision to leave a violent relationship, they need housing available right away,” a statement from the ministry reads.
“For too many people, we know that isn’t the case right now, given the pressures of the housing crisis and tragic increase in gender-based violence coming out of the pandemic.”
'FIND A YES PERSON'
The province has a 10-year, $734-million plan to build 1,500 housing spaces for women and children fleeing violence. In the meantime, Julie said people are trapped in dangerous situations.
She’s calling for greater financial support for survivors, who may have been financially drained by abusive partners. Julie set up a GoFundMe campaign with the hope of raising enough money to land a rental home.
“It makes me sad there isn’t that help for women and it's discouraging … to keep on trying every day,” she said.
Still, Julie is encouraging others to do exactly that.
“If you’re talking to someone and they say no to you, you’re just talking to the wrong person,” she said. “You need to find a yes person.”
Canada's special rapporteur on foreign interference David Johnston will be questioned by MPs at committee Tuesday morning, about his role, his report into election meddling, his decision against a public inquiry, and allegations of a conflict of interest.
Prince Harry entered a courtroom witness box Tuesday, swearing to tell the truth in testimony against a tabloid publisher he accuses of phone hacking and other unlawful snooping.
Canada's emergency preparedness minister says images of wildfires burning across the country are some of the most severe ever witnessed in Canada and the current forecast for the next few months indicates the potential for continued higher-than-normal fire activity.
Many Canadian parents are stretching themselves thin — even going as far as to postpone their retirement in some cases — in order to help pay for their children’s education, according to a new survey.
The wall of a major dam in a part of southern Ukraine that Moscow controls collapsed Tuesday, triggering floods, endangering Europe's largest nuclear power plant and threatening drinking water supplies as both sides in the war rushed to evacuate residents and blamed each other for the emergency.
Police in Australia are investigating the suspicious death of a woman who used to live in Surrey, BC, after her body was found in her apartment on the outskirts of Sydney.
Pope Francis briefly went to Rome's main hospital on Tuesday for tests and returned to the Vatican, two months after he was hospitalized with an acute case of bronchitis.
Astrud Gilberto, the Brazilian singer, songwriter and entertainer whose off-hand, English-language cameo on 'The Girl from Ipanema' made her a worldwide voice of bossa nova, has died at age 83.
Canada’s housing market saw the largest improvement in affordability in nearly four years in the first quarter of 2023, according to a report from economists at the National Bank of Canada.
The provincial wildfire service is warning British Columbians to have a go-bag and make an evacuation plan with this year's wildfire season off to an alarming start.
Real estate experts say B.C.’s housing market is heating back after cooling off due to rising interest rates but the future is uncertain as several economists expect the Bank of Canada to hike rates again.
Police in Australia are investigating the suspicious death of a woman who used to live in Surrey, BC, after her body was found in her apartment on the outskirts of Sydney.
Canada's emergency preparedness minister says images of wildfires burning across the country are some of the most severe ever witnessed in Canada and the current forecast for the next few months indicates the potential for continued higher-than-normal fire activity.
Edmonton police launched a new tool Monday to encourage reports of "hate incidents," something officers believe will help them track people who may escalate to "hate crimes."
Many Canadian parents are stretching themselves thin — even going as far as to postpone their retirement in some cases — in order to help pay for their children’s education, according to a new survey.
A grieving widow whose husband was run over and killed by a speeding OPP officer can't believe the force told her it won't hold a public hearing into the case because it decided the misconduct was 'not serious.'
Calgary-based Cenovus Energy says it has safely restarted a portion of its production that was shut down because of the threat of wildfires in northern and central Alberta.
A 53-year-old man was shot and killed in the Montreal suburb of Dorval on Monday afternoon. A source told CTV News that the victim is Francesco Del Balso, who has links to Montreal's Mafia.
The numerous forest fires raging in certain regions of Quebec have led to thousands of evacuations since the weekend and continue to threaten infrastructure on Tuesday. Temporary accommodation centres have been opened in nine municipalities on the Côte-Nord, in Abitibi-Témiscamingue and in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, to accommodate evacuees.
The Quebec national assembly's ethics commissioner Ariane Mignolet argues that the fact that MNAs are debating their own salaries can raise issues of conflict of interest.
Canada's emergency preparedness minister says images of wildfires burning across the country are some of the most severe ever witnessed in Canada and the current forecast for the next few months indicates the potential for continued higher-than-normal fire activity.
A Ukrainian woman who now lives in Winnipeg is hoping one day she will be able to bring her husband's remains to her new home, a place he hoped one day he too would be able to call home.
Manitoba Public Insurance is suing the Manitoba government, a Manitoba construction company and an unidentified employee for more than $31,000 saying road work damaged 12 vehicles in 2021.
Flames and smoke could be seen shooting out of a home on Graham Street in Waterloo shortly after midnight on Monday, creating a scene that firefighters say was intense before they arrived.
A report going before regional councillors on Tuesday will recommend beginning the process of environmental remediation at the former Charles Street bus terminal in Kitchener.
Canada's emergency preparedness minister says images of wildfires burning across the country are some of the most severe ever witnessed in Canada and the current forecast for the next few months indicates the potential for continued higher-than-normal fire activity.
Recent downpours have frustrated tenants of a Regina low income housing complex. They say their parking lot floods with every heavy rain and the landlord has not taken steps to improve drainage.
Police in Barrie say another unsanctioned truck rally held in the city's north end over the weekend drew hundreds of participants and onlookers in a "chaotic scene of disrespect and total disregard for private property."
While Saskatoon Tribal Council (STC) publicly mulled moving its downtown emergency shelter to a location on 20th Street near the city's core, city documents reveal the wellness centre's present Fairhaven area location was heavily favoured early in the process.
Canada's emergency preparedness minister says images of wildfires burning across the country are some of the most severe ever witnessed in Canada and the current forecast for the next few months indicates the potential for continued higher-than-normal fire activity.
A long-awaited trail linking the town of Watrous to nearby Manitou Beach is now open to the public, but the meaning behind this simple gravel path goes much further than meets the eye.
A grieving widow whose husband was run over and killed by a speeding OPP officer can't believe the force told her it won't hold a public hearing into the case because it decided the misconduct was 'not serious.'
Canada's emergency preparedness minister says images of wildfires burning across the country are some of the most severe ever witnessed in Canada and the current forecast for the next few months indicates the potential for continued higher-than-normal fire activity.
Officials are asking people living around Centennial Lake to evacuate their homes as a forest fire burns in the area west of Calabogie, Ont. An evacuation order has been extended to Wednesday afternoon.
