Essex woman living in a tent hopes to find housing before the holidays
Erica Gagnon, 40, has been homeless, living in a tent since July.
“This is about my fifteenth tent. I’ve been all through Windsor, Harrow, Kingsville, Leamington,” says Gagnon.
Gagnon was living in a trailer until it was sold by the owner. She then briefly lived in a car.
“It’s devastating. It’s embarrassing. People look down on you,” says Gagnon. “They expect you to go back to the cracks where you came from. It destroys you, but you have to stay strong.”
“We have to do something, immediately. We cannot let Erica stay out here another night,” says homeless advocate Dave Mota.
After hearing about Gagnon’s situation, one that exemplifies a larger issue, Mota has been trying to help.
“When I actually looked into housing for her, there’s nothing available out here in Essex County as far as emergency shelters. There’s no affordable housing for Erica at all,” says Mota.
“I’m a county girl so to go to the city is difficult for me and I can’t cope with people that are there. It would be nice to have something in the county,” says Gagnon.
Gagnon receives money each month from Ontario Works, but says it’s not enough to survive.
“I have about 300 bucks from welfare for basic needs. Other than that, that’s about it. I depend on food banks and people’s contributions,” says Gagnon.
With homelessness on the rise in Windsor-Essex, Mota is calling for more affordable housing.
“It’s become increasingly worse with homelessness and it all has to do with affordable housing, geared-to-income housing, intervention, places for them to go to. Emergency shelters, there’s just not enough of it,” says Mota.
“I’m done camping,” says Gagnon. “No more extreme camping for me. I’m done. I need to be indoors.”
Especially as colder weather is upon us, Gagnon soon hopes for a place to call home.
“Housing before Christmas. I have family, I have kids and being in a tent, you can’t really have Christmas dinner in a tent,” she says. “So I’d like to be somewhere for the holidays.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Woman with liver failure rejected for a transplant after medical review highlights alcohol use
For nearly three months, Amanda Huska has been in an Ontario hospital, part of it on life support, because of severe liver failure. Her history of alcohol use is getting in the way of her only potential treatment: a liver transplant.
$500K-worth of elvers seized at Toronto airport
Fishery and border service officers seized more than 100 kilograms of unauthorized elvers at the Toronto Pearson International Airport on Wednesday.
Scottie Scheffler, from the course to jail and back: What to know about his PGA Championship arrest
Two-time Masters champion Scottie Scheffler was arrested after police say he dragged an officer while trying to get around the scene of a fatal accident Friday ahead of the second round of the PGA Championship.
Truck engulfed in flames with owner on scene in Scarborough
A truck was engulfed in flames in the early hours in Scarborough on Saturday.
B.C. man 'attacked suddenly' by adult grizzly near Alberta boundary: RCMP
A B.C. man is recovering from multiple injuries after he was "attacked suddenly" by an adult grizzly bear near Elkford Thursday afternoon.
Feds refuse Toronto's request to decriminalize simple drug possession
The federal government has denied Toronto's request to decriminalize simple possession of small amounts of drugs for personal use.
Yemen's Houthi rebels launch a missile that strikes an oil tanker in the Red Sea, U.S. military says
Yemen's Houthi rebels hit an oil tanker in the Red Sea with a ballistic missile early Saturday, damaging the Panama-flagged, Greek-owned vessel in their latest assault over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, officials said.
Jesus is their saviour, Trump is their candidate. Ex-president's backers say he shares faith, values
As Donald Trump increasingly infuses his campaign with Christian trappings while coasting to a third Republican presidential nomination, his support is as strong as ever among evangelicals and other conservative Christians.
Duchene scores winner in 2nd OT, Stars reach conference final with 2-1 win over Avs
Matt Duchene scored at 11:42 of the second overtime after being involved in a play that led to a goal disallowed for goaltender interference in the first extra period, and the Dallas Stars advanced to the Western Conference final with a 2-1 victory over the Colorado Avalanche in Game 6 on Friday night.