The COVID-19 pandemic has intensified the housing crisis for women

Article content

The pandemic has exacerbated a housing crisis in Montreal, a crisis that was already having a huge effect on women, according to a report by the Table des groups de femmes de Montréal ( TGFM ) was made public on Wednesday.

Article content

Almost 90 percent of the groups that responded to an online questionnaire from the organization said that women have had a harder time finding affordable housing since the start of the pandemic. The report identifies as factors that contribute to the increase in rents, competition in the rental market, unsafe housing that threatens the health and safety of women; a lack of accessible housing that limits the autonomy of women living with a disability; increases in evictions; recovery of units by the owner; and harassment by owners or neighbors.

Among the many recommendations in the report are that governments:

Article content

The report also found that there has been an increase in dating violence since the beginning of the pandemic. The lack of space in women’s shelters, which was already a problem before, only intensified when closures and curfews left many women trapped in situations of abuse and violence or forced them to turn to resources that did not meet their needs. needs, he says.

The TGFM surveyed 59 women’s groups and mixed organizations through focus groups, an online questionnaire, and individual meetings over the past year on the connections between the pandemic, violence experienced by women, the housing crisis, and homelessness. of housing; also analyzed publications and statistical data.

Lockdowns during the pandemic exposed more homes to mold and vermin and led to an increase in health problems such as anxiety and depression, according to the report. However, many women do not raise these issues with their landlords because they fear being evicted or having their rent increased, the report says. More than half of the groups responding to the questionnaire reported that, since the start of the pandemic, women have increasingly faced threats, evictions, harassment, and landlord repossessions.

Article content

Many Montreal women are forced to live in unaffordable housing or accept rent increases because they fear they will not be able to find rentals elsewhere and unaffordable housing has a major impact on financial stability. Women who are indigenous, living with a disability, older people, sexual minorities, immigrants or single-parent families and particularly affected because they are likely to have lower incomes, according to the report.

“Women are finding it difficult to have their rights respected when faced with rent increases, unsanitary housing, foreclosures, evictions and harassment from landlords or neighbors,” said Sally Richmond, CEO of Logifem, which provides shelter and care for Montreal women. and your children in difficult circumstances that may include spousal violence, financial hardship, and mental health issues.

Article content

They can stay in Logifem , which this week opens a second facility in Montreal, for up to a year. Intervention workers help them decide what type of housing they want and help them complete applications for social or community housing. “Our goal is for them to go to affordable and adequate housing,” Richmond said.

Access to affordable housing is increasingly difficult, Richmond said, and not only housing is needed, but services are needed as well. With the pandemic and the housing crisis, the work of grassroots organizations has become more complex. Most organizations offering social housing have seen an increase in applications since the pandemic. The waiting lists mean that the delays and the “dense bureaucracy” involved in allocating social housing create further barriers, according to the report. The shortage also increases overcrowding in makeshift housing and emergency shelters.

Article content

The pandemic has made the work of grassroots community support workers more challenging, according to the report; their focus groups revealed exhaustion, even distress, among community support workers; many were absent or resigned.

“Much work still needs to be done to guarantee women’s right to housing in Montreal,” says the report’s executive summary. “Organizations on the ground have been working hard, especially in the last few months. Our governments must recognize the right to housing for all women in Montreal, starting with concrete but ambitious measures to provide adequate housing and support for women in difficulty and to increase the number of social and community housing. These efforts should allow Montreal women to choose the living environment that best suits their needs. “

Article content

[email protected]

All of our coronavirus-related news can be found at montrealgazette.com/tag/coronavirus.

For information on the vaccine passport, touch here.

Sign up for our email newsletter dedicated to local coverage of COVID-19 at montrealgazette.com/coronavirusnews.

Help support our local journalism by subscribing to the Montreal Gazette here.