Christina Thomas was living in a shelter in Brampton, when she managed to secure affordable housing in London, Ont., sight unseen.<\/p>\n
She was excited to be starting a new life, moving on from the precarious situation she was in.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I arrived, I moved into a place with a drug house nearby,\u201d says Thomas. \u201cI have children. What does that look like for my children?\u201d<\/p>\n
But because of affordable housing\u2019s high demand and severe shortage, Thomas had no choice but to live in a dangerous, stressful environment.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re fearful that if you reject that one offer, now you\u2019re back at the bottom of the list, so you take what is offered to you thankfully, however, what risk does that include?\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Following her time in London, Thomas was relocated to housing in St. Catharines. She shared her experience as one of several panelists and researchers discussing the findings of a study on affordable housing for women in Niagara arising out of a partnership between Brock University\u2019s Niagara Community Observatory (NCO) and YWCA Niagara Region. The event was held Wednesday, June 22 on Brock\u2019s main campus.<\/p>\n
The study focuses on the experiences of women navigating the affordable housing system, who relayed their personal accounts in focus groups during the research process.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs one of the focus group facilitators, I was very moved by the traumatic stories the participants shared,\u201d Assistant Professor of Political Science Joanne Heritz, the NCO\u2019s lead researcher on the project, told the gathering. \u201cThere is a desperate need for all of us in Niagara to listen to, and address, the housing needs of the most vulnerable families in our community.\u201d<\/p>\n