Do you turn on the heat or put food on the table?
That’s the struggle dozens of families in Simcoe County face every winter. It’s one Lorenzo Frater had to make. He skipped paying a big bill in order to feed his children.
“I'm not going to stress and pay this, I would rather feed my children; so I fed my children and then I had excessive annoying bills coming,” he says. “I had to ask The Salvation Army to help me.”
It’s a story frontline workers are hearing all the time.
“We are seeing more people who are living paycheque to paycheque and what we would call the working poor. Just one paycheque away from being on the street,” says Major Doug Lewis of The Salvation Army.
With winter not far off, outreach agencies expect a spike in the demand for shelter beds.
At the David Busby Street Centre there's been a 25 per cent increase in the number of people using their services. At The Salvation Army, the facilities are always full.
Simcoe County has identified affordable housing as a priority, but is far off from having enough units to meet the demand. Until then, agencies hope raising awareness will make a difference.
“We are advocating for making sure that rents are inclusive because we are seeing such a challenge with the hydro rates and people really being stuck to make some hard decisions,” says Sara Peddle, a spokesperson for Busby.
Staff at The Salvation army say there isn't a one size fits all solution. They are encouraging people to come to them before they find themselves in a tough spot, so they can look at options before they end up on the street.
