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
Canada to launch 'national action plan' to fight auto theft
The federal government is launching what it calls its 'national action plan' to combat auto thefts, which will include stronger penalties for thieves, and increased information sharing between police agencies, government officials and border enforcement.
U.S. Supreme Court rejects appeal from former Guantanamo detainee Omar Khadr
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal by a Canadian-born former Guantanamo detainee who was seeking to wipe away his war crimes convictions, including for killing a U.S. soldier in Afghanistan.
What is BORG drinking, and why is it a dangerous trend? An expert explains
If you've been to a party lately and haven't seen someone drinking a BORG, you're likely not partying with college students.
Iran's president and foreign minister die in helicopter crash at moment of high tensions in Mideast
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and the country's foreign minister were found dead Monday hours after their helicopter crashed in fog, leaving the Islamic Republic without two key leaders as extraordinary tensions grip the wider Middle East.
Michael Cohen says he stole from Trump's company as defence presses key hush money trial witness
Former Donald Trump attorney Michael Cohen admitted Monday to jurors in the Republican's hush money trial that he stole tens of thousands of dollars from Trump's company as defence lawyers seized on the star witness' misdeeds to attack his credibility.
The world's best airline is paying staff a bonus of 8 months' salary
Singapore Airlines will reward its employees with a bonus worth nearly eight months of salary, a person familiar with the matter told CNN on Friday.
Woman, 35, in critical condition after her truck collided with a Via Rail train near Montreal
A 35-year-old woman is in critical condition after the pick-up truck she was driving was struck by a Via Rail passenger train Monday morning in Quebec's Monteregie region.
Investors watching posts from 'Crypto King' in the wake of fraud, money laundering charges
Former investors of the self-styled “Crypto King” say they are watching his social media accounts and worried his displays of wealth are signs he’s spending their money, even now, as another large expense tied to Aiden Pleterski has triggered a previously unreported lawsuit.
Almost 2 months after it destroyed Baltimore's Key Bridge, the Dali cargo ship has been moved
The cargo ship Dali is being moved from the site of its catastrophic collision with the Francis Scott Key Bridge in a crucial step toward fully reopening the busy Port of Baltimore.