Rural areas need more services for homeless

Sessions at the National Conference to End Homelessness focused on the reality of the rural hidden homeless, often identified as a troubling factor in Lanark and Renfrew counties.

Terilee Kelford, based in Carleton Place and co-chair of the National Alliance to End Rural and Remote Homelessness, identified transportation as a leading problem as well as the widespread lack of services.

Atlas Commanda, now working with Alliance to End Homelessness Ottawa and a member of a rural youth network, spoke of coming to Ottawa from Renfrew at age 17 in search of help. There was no other option. Ten years later, she is planning to return home where others can benefit from her experience.

She said it is twice as hard for rural youth to get help compared to those in the city and three times as hard for Indigenous youth.

Small ancillary things like a lack of public transportation can pose a big problem, she said.

Information about the reasons for rural homelessness and a guide to estimating numbers is available on ruraldevelopmenrt.ca

Heather Hay from Elder Abuse Prevention Muskoka emphasized the plight of older women in rural settings, some spending as much as 80 per cent of income on housing.

Many are living in much older houses, she said, and are not able to pay for needed maintenance and upgrades. Their numbers are increasing. They are living alone longer; in the worst cases ending up on the street because they didn’t want to take advantage of “the system.”

Another presentation, from west-central Alberta, described an initiative to develop a rural transit system that addresses local needs.

The Tamarack Transit System followed a county-wide survey and consultations. It is a project of the Clearwater Regional Housing Foundation, partnering with the federal Rural Transit Solutions Fund.

“All the services were saying that quality of life would definitely be improved with better transportation options for people,” project manager Janice Fraser said.

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