'A mother should never ever have to be put in this position': B.C. mom on brink of homelessness

Michelle nearly lost her baby daughter once — and she's trying her hardest not to lose her again.

Last summer, she found the infant lying lifeless inside her crib in the middle of the night, just weeks after she was born. The incident was later diagnosed as a case of sudden infant death syndrome.

"My attempts at giving her CPR didn't work," Michelle told CBC News from her B.C. home. "I had to call on my son to help... and he saved her life."

Though the infant survived, the baby, now just over six months old, suffered severe brain damage. She's partially blind and has been diagnosed with epilepsy and cerebral palsy. Michelle says she spends many of her days travelling to medical appointments across the region.

But she has four other kids to care for, and the family is in dire financial straits. Michelle couldn't afford to pay the December rent on her three-bedroom apartment as she grapples with health, food and living costs.

Poverty advocates say Michelle's situation has become all too common in the Fraser Valley and beyond, as the unaffordability crisis hits families across the province.

"As the cost of living increases, the cost of housing, the cost of child care — particularly for children with special needs — people are falling into poverty," said Helesia Luke, a spokesperson with the poverty advocacy group First Call B.C.

A recent provincial report card found that one in five children in B.C. are in poverty.

"This is not a problem exclusive to the metro region at all," said Luke, "As people leave those urban centres to get more affordable housing, housing prices in those [other] areas go up as well."

Michelle hopes her family will get accepted into an affordable home provided by B.C. Housing. But after sitting on the provincial registry for more than two years, she worries they will end up on the street.

"It's very difficult. A mother should never ever have to be put in this position — to really be faced to look at paying expenses and bills, or paying your rent," she said. "It's really hard."

On the move

Michelle is a former support worker for vulnerable women, now off work and collecting a monthly disability payment.

The family moved to Metro Vancouver from Cranbrook, B.C. in 2017, where they lived in subsidized housing. Leaving that behind was a tough decision for Michelle, but she felt it was necessary.

Her six-year-old son has autism and she said there are more health services available for him in B.C.'s Lower Mainland.

"We left B.C. Housing for market rental — and we've just been trying to survive ever since," she said.

Since then, she's had three more kids. two of whom were born in June. The family of six has since settled in the Fraser Valley.

Treating both children's disabilities on a limited income have been a challenge. Michelle has to make weekly trips to Vancouver for medical services, often for days at a time. The costs of food, fuel, accommodations, and medications have piled up.

"I'm just overblown with the amount of appointments we have make," she said. "We see a pediatrician once a month, a neurologist once a month, physiotherapy, occupational therapy. We see a dietitian, we see an ophthalmologist... It's put us into a financial crisis."

Michelle asked to be issued an eviction notice prior to the day before her rent was due, knowing she couldn't afford it.

The document allows her to apply for a $700 crisis supplement from the Ministry of Children and Family Development. She's hopeful she can put the dollars toward a delayed rent payment.

'A miracle'

Michelle has been working closely with housing advocates at the Salvation Army. Captain Matt Kean said the organization has been working to find housing options for her.

B.C. Housing would not comment on the circumstances due to confidentiality, but noted there are more than 20,000 people on its registry whose needs are assessed on a case-by-case basis. The agency offers subsidized units to families — but advocates say they can be difficult to access.

Viveca Ellis, a community organizer for the B.C. Poverty Reduction Coalition, said single mothers with more than three children struggle to find adequate housing in Metro Vancouver and across the province.

"They end up waiting on the affordable housing lists for a very long time, because there is not enough large family stock in British Columbia."

It's a future that feels fragile, and uncertain. But Michelle draws inspiration from her daughter.

"This is all for her. It is absolutely all for her," she said.

"Life is just too short, and when you have such a miracle such as her, you have to cherish every moment. I just look at her, and I'm just extremely blessed," she said.

This story has been updated to remove the names of the children and the mother's surname.