Bee Lee Soh

Soh, 57, came to Canada from Malaysia to study when she was 19, became a citizen in 1993, and worked for years in low-wage jobs, unaware of any social safety net. In 2004, when she could no longer afford to pay $700 a month for a room on her minimum-wage job, Soh gave her landlord one-month’s notice and began looking for something cheaper. But by the time she realized she couldn’t find anything, her room was rented to someone else and she became homeless. Unemployment followed, as she was unable to hold down her full-time job while trying to sleep in all-night coffee shops. Soh spent eight months “couch surfing” and eating in soup kitchens before someone told her about welfare and she was able to rent another room. Although still haunted by homelessness, Soh has turned her experience into activism, including as a member of the federal government’s advisory panel on poverty which wrapped up last month.

Hardest day:

Everyday when mosquitoes keep me awake from scratching till bleeding even in the winter in my damp, cold and mouldy rooming house.

Small thing the city could do:

More housing allowances for people on the verge of homelessness like me, not just to the already homeless.

Big thing the city could do:

Make public transit free for the very poor.