City’s growing housing crisis sparks protest
After her 20-year-old daughter was killed, grief stricken Shelly Jones was unable to work. Without a steady income, the devastated mom soon found herself living in a vehicle with her son.
“We had our name on the waiting list at Calgary Housing. We were so far at the bottom of the waiting list, we ended up homeless and sleeping in my car for a month,” said Jones, who’s daughter Lacey Jones-McKnight was murdered in 2012.
“In the meantime, I’d gone back to work. Living in your car and trying to go to work everyday is a tough challenge.”
Jones and a handful of other Calgarians, including one dressed as a cockroach to bring attention to complaints of bug-infested low income housing, descended on a Calgary Housing Company office on Saturday in a bid to draw attention to the city’s housing crisis.
The small rally followed a similar protest held at the same Calgary Housing Company building at 1701 Centre Street N.W. last Saturday.
“We want people to know there are concerned citizens organizing around the issue,” said rally organizer Cecilia Miguel.
“The prices cannot go higher. A lot of people have to move away from Calgary because they can’t pay the rent.”
More than 3,600 names are on the Calgary Housing Company’s growing wait list for subsidized and affordable housing units — the largest number of Calgarians waiting for a home since March 2012.
The wait list at the Calgary Housing Company, a city-owned corporation that operates and manages 10,000 subsidized and affordable housing units, grew to 3,624 people in November.
The wait list has been steadily increasing since August, when it held 3,319 names. In September, there were 3,518 people on the wait list and in October that grew to 3,601.
The last time the wait list included more than 3,600 names was in March 2012, when 3,678 people were on the list.
Geoff Kneller, general manager at Calgary Housing Company, said while it’s not the organization’s mandate to build more units, he agrees with the message coming from protesters — that more affordable housing is needed in Calgary.
“We do appreciate when people and organizations recognize the same need we see,” he said.
Kneller said the organization would like to have the resources to help more people.
“We know there are more people looking for housing than we’re able to help,” he said.
Calgary Housing Company is only responsible for operating affordable housing units, not increasing the stock or constructing units, he added.
The organization’s wait list fluctuates from month to month and isn’t filled on a first-come, firstserved basis. Instead, people with the greatest level of need have priority.
For Jones, who eventually found a place to live and moved out of her car, the struggles aren’t yet over. She’s now facing eviction because she can’t afford her rent.
“There is literally no light at the end of the tunnel for me,” she said.
Coun. Brian Pincott, chair of the Calgary Housing Company board, called the protesters’ message “bang on.”
“We need more affordable housing,” he said.
Pincott said that message must be sent to the right people, including the levels of government responsible for putting money into building more affordable housing units.
Pincott also expressed concern about the Calgary Housing Company’s growing wait list.