Eight people sharing a two-bedroom house. A woman and her handicapped son making their home in a school bus. Down and out people - often those who are mentally ill, alcoholic or both - living in the bush or temporarily sleeping on a friend's sofa. Stressed families turning to the food bank because they have to use their grocery money to pay the rent.
These are all realities of life on the Sunshine Coast, where affordable housing is an increasing problem. To address that problem, the Social Planning Council, the Coast Housing Society and Sunshine Coast Community Services are holding an all-day forum on affordable housing Jan. 15 at the Seniors' Centre.
Michael Hume, one of the organizers of the forum, said housing is a global problem, but here on the Sunshine Coast the boom in house prices (up 60 per cent in the past three years) is creating a housing crisis for people on fixed incomes.
"Basically, as the prices of houses go up, so do the rents, unfortunately," says Hume. "A lot of single mothers haven't the income to pay the rent, let alone buy a house."
Single-parent families, young adults trying to earn their living at entry-level jobs, disabled people and seniors on fixed pensions are some of those hardest hit by rising rents and property taxes. That amounts to about 40 per cent of the Coast's population.
"The problem is there's a separation between those who are very well-off and those who can barely afford a roof," says Hume. "It's ridiculous that working people don't earn enough to afford a house. There is a growing number of people becoming alienated from society. It leads to crime, drunkenness and drug addiction."
Brian Ludwig, president of the Arrowhead Centre Society, which serves people with mental illness, says people on a disability pension of $856 a month often are paying $500 or $600 for rent.
"It doesn't leave much for them to live on," he says. "They're living in places that should be done away with."
Next Saturday's forum will address the problem from many angles, including a survey of the current housing conditions on the Coast and opportunities for financing subsidized housing. The forum organizers intend to plan for the next steps needed to tackle the housing problem.
The public forum on affordable housing runs from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Seniors' Centre in Sechelt. The registration fee is $20, and bursaries are available for those who cannot afford that fee. Transportation will also be provided. For more information or to register, phone 604-885-4704 or email housingforum@dccnet.com.
