Housing support

Our housing outreach team provides vital support to women who are unhoused or at risk of losing their housing. With 11 staff working from the drop-in centres and shelters to support more than 200 women in search of safe affordable housing, our teams have to be especially creative and work through many barriers beyond our control.

Currently, women are facing an especially challenging context:  

• Limited housing stock: The vacancy rate in Vancouver is only 0.9%, meaning very few listings are available.  
• Record-high rents: Opportunities for affordable housing are nearly non-existent. The average rent for a room in a shared house is close to 1,000 a month, while a single woman on income assistance receives a maximum of $1,060 a month, of which only $500 is the “shelter” allowance.  
• Stigma: When housing is available in the private market, the women we serve often face discrimination from landlords.  
• Space and eligibility criteria for transition houses and subsidized housing: this type of housing is often inaccessible to women with large families, mobility or health challenges, or who are active with their substance use. When criteria are met, there are often long wait lists.   

I have been homeless for 18 years, over half of my life. Since I found a place, I am feeling at home for the first time in a long time. I even secured a job.”

Anonymous participant