Women's housing crisis needs to be addressed, says coalition of advocates to federal housing minister

A national coalition of housing advocates has sent a report to the federal housing minister with 15 calls to action, all leading to one main request: to address and commit to solutions for women and gender-diverse people experiencing housing precarity and homelessness.

Meanwhile, some women-only shelters in Calgary are operating at full capacity — even after more spaces were recently added to service rising demand.

"Housing policy solutions in Canada have taken this very gender-blind approach where we've looked at one-size-fits-all solutions," said Khulud Baig, the director of policy and community engagement with the Women's National Housing and Homelessness Network.

That organization worked alongside the National Indigenous Housing Network and the Pan-Canadian Voice for Women's Housing on the briefing guide submitted to the minister.

"Women-led households are overrepresented in poverty. Single mother-led households are overrepresented in poverty. They are more likely to be experiencing housing [insecurity] and homelessness," said Baig.

Baig, who lives in Calgary, said women and gender-diverse people often experience unique trajectories when navigating housing insecurity.

"That means that when they go to a shelter, there are certain concerns that are unique to them — such as gender-based violence, such as being caretakers of little children or having little children with them … being pregnant," she said.

Navigating shelters can also be difficult and dangerous for transgender people, said Baig, since many shelters are co-ed or don't offer any gender-affirming services.

"What we're really hoping is that we can get the attention of the Minister of Housing and we can have some sort of a round-table discussion with the minister."

The 15 calls to action in the report include:

• Expanding the federal Rapid Housing Initiative into a permanent program, with a dedicated funding stream for women and gender-diverse people.
• Creating national standards for tenant protections.
• Monitor outcomes of federal housing investments and evaluate whether they're helping women and gender-diverse people.
• Promote involvement of women and gender-diverse people in the construction sector and foster expertise in green building design.

In a phone call with CBC News, Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Sean Fraser's press secretary Micaal Ahmed said the minister's team will be looking into the report in the coming days and does not have further comment at this time.

'We are at full occupancy'

There are 78 women-only shelter spaces in Calgary, which are run by YW Calgary, the Mustard Seed and the Salvation Army. That number doesn't include domestic violence shelter spaces.

According to a point-in-time count from the Calgary Homeless Foundation, there was a four per cent decrease in Calgarians experiencing homelessness between 2018 and 2022 — but the number of females experiencing homelessness grew from 27 per cent to 31 per cent in that time.

Talia Bell, chief programs and people officer with YW Calgary, said demand skyrocketed during the peak of the pandemic — for all housing services — and it never dropped back down.

"We are at full occupancy across our emergency beds, across our long term transitional housing and within our affordable housing for women and children who have left domestic violence," said Bell.

In October, the Mustard Seed opened a new 20-space women's shelter to meet rising demand. On the day of the launch, Alberta's Minister for Seniors, Community and Social Services Jason Nixon told reporters that people were already lining up for a bed.

The ongoing housing crisis is changing the shelter system, said Bell. Women used to access YW Calgary's transitional housing for, on average, seven to eight months.

"With the housing crisis that we're all experiencing in our community, with the high cost of inflation, the cost of food and all of those basic necessities that we know are continually increasing in cost, we're seeing an average stay right now of 13 to 14 months with us."

Shannon Deglow from High River, Alta., is one of many mothers affected by the housing crisis.

Like other Albertans, this summer, she spent a week living on a campground with her daughter and two pets after her lease wasn't renewed.

She said she lived in a townhome for six years and always paid the bills on time. Deglow said she eventually found the unit listed online for $400 more than what she was paying.

"I didn't imagine ever in my life, in Canada, in Alberta, that I would be homeless with my child and my pets. I just didn't," said Deglow.

"How many people are going to end up like my daughter and [me]?"

Deglow is now sharing a room with her 16-year-old daughter — it's all she can find. She said she wants governments to implement tenant protection policies, like rent control.

As for Bell, she said using a gendered lens on housing strategies is critical as organizations focus on finding innovative solutions to the changing landscape.