Regina senior says she is homeless after being evicted from government care home

A Regina senior says she is terrified after being evicted from a government care home, because she doesn't have a permanent place to live.

Evelyn Harper lived at Cedar Wood Manor near Wascana Park for four years, but was forced to leave last week. She said she was given a three-day eviction notice because the unit she was in had a cockroach infestation that couldn't be treated properly and she can't safely live there independently because of her rheumatoid arthritis.

Harper said she didn't get any help finding a new place. The 71-year-old retired health-care worker said she had to abruptly leave without many of her possessions and is temporarily staying at the Sunrise Motel.

"Not knowing what I'm going to do and where I'm going, it's been very scary," Harper said at the Saskatchewan Legislative Building on Wednesday as a guest of the Opposition NDP.

"I wouldn't wish this on anybody to be homeless and to be kicked out of your place where you live, because it's been the scariest thing in my life."

Harper said cockroaches were hanging off her ceiling at Cedar Wood Manor, but that's not the only reason she doesn't want to go back to the government care home.

Harper said her arthritis has been worsening and her disability suite at Cedar Wood Manor wasn't wheelchair accessible. She said she had home care when she started living at Cedar Wood Manor to help her with laundry and getting into bed, but hasn't received that support recently.

"My family, my grandsons decided to help me. They would come and wash [my clothes] once a week and they would come back every night to help me get into bed," Harper said.

Someone should have helped: NDP housing critic

The Opposition NDP housing critic Meara Conway said the Regina Housing Authority was following its rules in evicting Harper, but that someone from the Saskatchewan Housing Corporation should have done more.

"I'm just shocked that no one worked with Evelyn to find her another unit, to find her more support," Conway said on Wednesday.

"She tells me she's applied to 50 different units and she can't find anything in her budget. She relies on CPP and an old age pension. When she was evicted by the Regina Housing Authority, the sheriff came and escorted her out."

The Regina Housing Authority states on its website that its social housing program is intended to serve those with low incomes. The authority says priority is given to seniors, families with dependents, and people with disabilities.

"There are vacancies across Regina Housing Authority and Saskatchewan Housing Authority units across the province and I'm very disappointed to hear that no action was taken," Conway said.

Conway added that Harper went to mobile crisis, which sent her to the Ministry of Social Services.

"The Ministry of Social Services told her they weren't able to offer her anything because she receives an old age pension," Conway said.

Working on a solution

Harper was slated to meet with Saskatchewan's Minister of Social Services Gene Makowsky on Wednesday.

Makowsky said the government will intervene and help look for places where Harper can move permanently. He added  that the ministry will pay for her motel. 

"We'll give her the support she needs, whether it's within the social services ministry, whether it's in the housing corporation or if it is in other areas that we can assist, and [we will] make sure she is taken care of in any way we can," Makowsky said.

Makowsky said the Ministry of Social Services will review Harper's case to learn from it.

Harper said she shared her story to help ensure others don't have to go through the same struggles.

"I sure hope it will help other people not be kicked out on the street, especially in the winter."