For the past seven months, Laureen McGraw’s life has revolved around her sports utility vehicle (SUV) and a consistent cycle of visiting various homeless shelters across Windsor. This unexpected pattern of existence began in April, following the unfortunate incident of fire gutting the home she used to rent.
Her pursuit of a comfortable abode since the mishap has been unfruitful, a situation she links to the increasing rates of rent, an overcrowded shelter system and insufficient services for emergencies in the city of Windsor.
In December of the previous year, McGraw had relocated to a rented property along Chatham Street. However, a seemingly harmless act of heating oil intended for making French fries suddenly turned disastrous, sparking a grease fire in the kitchen. She had quickly alerted the emergency services but had her world shockingly changed in minutes as the fire completely engulfed the antiquated dwelling filled with asbestos.
Reliable support was scarce as she had no relatives or friends who could accommodate her, her 28-year-old son, and their dog. As a result, the trio has been living in her SUV, leveraging city shelters for meals and temporary shelter.
McGraw’s story is far from uncommon. Increasing rental rates and a lack of affordable housing options in Windsor are leaving more individuals homeless. This has put immense strain on homeless shelters, many of which are already at or near capacity.
Now the city’s services are being challenged to find adequate housing for individuals like McGraw, who are unable to afford soaring rent prices. Despite the payout she received from her rental insurance after the fire, it was not sufficient to secure a new rental property in the city due to the high costs.
“The rental prices are outrageous,” said Mcgraw. “A one-bedroom is $1,000 to $2,000. A two-bedroom? $1,400 to $2,400. How does one person on ODSP actually afford that?”
Despite the plea to the city’s Social Services for emergency housing post-fire, the lack of affordable housing and the scarcity of vacancies in the city’s social housing have left McGraw still waiting for a solution. Her situation underscores the urgent need for more affordable housing options and effective emergency support services in the city of Windsor. “They build new apartment buildings and condos but for thousands of dollars a month,” McGraw laments, highlighting the city’s housing disparity.
