Lack of affordable housing in Windsor has this single mom with cancer staying in a shelter

As a single mom dealing with cancer, Maryk Hardy Munro just wants a place for her family to call home, but she said discrimination and a lack of affordable housing are keeping her in a shelter. 

About three months ago, Hardy Munro drove herself and her four children from Saskatoon to Windsor, Ont., to be closer to her mom and siblings. But she's now one of thousands of Windsorites waiting to get affordable housing.

"As long as you're a single parent or you don't have the best credit or you don't have the full damage deposit, or just them looking at you, they want nothing to do with you and as a single mom that sucks and it hurts, 'cause a lot of women in this [shelter] feel exactly same way and that's why they're here," said Hardy Munro, who is Cree First Nation. 

"It's not because they're bad people, 'cause I'm not a bad person, but we get painted with one brush and only one brush." 

For the last two months, Hardy Munro and her children, who are all under the age of nine, have been staying at The Welcome Centre Shelter for Women & Families. When she first arrived in Windsor, she was staying with her mom, but said the small space couldn't fit them all. 

While struggling to build a new life here, Hardy Munro is also being treated for Stage 4 cervical cancer — she was diagnosed in September 2020. 

She said the thought of being in a shelter as she goes through chemotherapy next month "scares" her because she knows the toll it takes on her immune system. 

Each month, Hardy Munro said she gets a $350 living allowance from Ontario Works and $2,100 from the Canada Child Benefit. 

WATCH: Hardy Munro reacts to the long housing wait

Maryk Hardy Munro says she'll likely have to wait 6 years to get affordable housing

2 years ago

Duration 1:17

Hardy Munro says she's not sure is she'll stay in Ontario if she can't find housing for her and her family.

Six-year wait for housing

Hardy Munro said barriers to her finding housing include a lack of affordable spaces and discrimination against her as an Indigenous single mom. 

She was put on a waitlist for housing through the Can-Am Urban Native Homes. Hardy Munro said the organization told her it will likely take six years for her to get affordable housing. 

Amy Graf, the tenant liaison at Can-Am Urban Native Homes, said Hardy Munro's story is all too common as the housing wait list only continues to grow. 

"It's very hard to be in a position where you hear all these stories and you really have nothing to offer," said Graf who has been working in the industry for the last five years. 

Rising housing costs are leading to an increased demand for affordable shelter and preventing people in social housing from transitioning out. 

"When people are not moving, we don't have any homes opening up to offer to new people yet the list is growing substantially," she said, adding that typically they have at least four to eight families transition out of the affordable housing units in a year. 

The Can-Am Urban Native Homes has nearly 100 housing spots — all of which are full. According to Graf, 40 families and about 150 single people are on a wait list. 

People staying in shelter longer

Delays in getting people housed mean the length of stay at a shelter is also increasing, according to the Welcome Centre Shelter for Women & Families' executive director Lady Laforet. 

On average, Laforet said people would stay in the shelter for about a month, but now they're staying up to 40 days and sometimes months. 

"It becomes that much harder to support a family out of the shelter back in the community. Stays get longer, which then means I don't have the space for the next family whose coming in and looking for shelter as well," she said. 

Laforet said women at the shelter tell her how "demoralizing" it is to search for housing. 

"We're seeing women who are just getting very defeated by that process of going out and looking daily ... and knowing that low income women especially are competing in a market that they're already so disadvantaged in," she said. 

Both Graf and Laforet said landlords shouldn't discriminate based on someone's situation and need to take a chance on people.

Graf also suggested that the government find ways to regulate rental prices and create more transitional housing to relieve the pressure someone faces in finding a home in today's market. 

For now, Hardy Munro said she's not sure if she'll stay in Ontario much longer if she can't find housing. 

"I have treatment in December so like it's going to be hard and I won't be able to look for places then," she said.