Okanagan family living in bush-lack of affordable housing

[Temet Nosce]

Like some others here, I am wondering about the makeup of the 8 family members. There is only the mention of the grandmother and one son working. So where are the other adults? Also; I have to wonder why they are all living together.
Anyone, no matter what income, would have trouble finding a rental which would accommodate 8 people, let alone large pets.

Just trying to count it out:
Grandmother
Grandson
2 grand daughters
Son

That makes 5. Where are the other 3 adults?

Why is it the responsibility of the Country,the Province, the City to provide them with "affordable"accommodation? They appear to have chosen to keep a VERY large family together. They have chosen to have large pets. The situation they find themselves in could well be a result of their own choices.It is not up to society to accommodate them. The adults in this family need to step up and figure out how to support their large family.

Edit:
Here are a couple links to earlier stories. In the film clip, I see 4 people who could probably be earning income. (The son appears to be old enough to have some sort of job). From the time I was 12, I worked. I babysat every day after school and had a summer job every year.

https://www.castanet.net/news/West-Kelo ... out-a-home

https://www.castanet.net/news/Letters/1 ... rking-poor

Here is a suggestion from back in April.
https://www.castanet.net/news/Letters/1 ... for-Debbie

It is great they have saved $10,000 and have an income of 6,000 and they look like a nice family but clearly IMO need to adjust their expectations. Like the last link (letter) I would suggest looking at less expensive homes then 567,000. That is a large mortgage and of course going to take a lot of money down. And yes... I know a very unpopular comment with some but relocation would be on the top of my list.

[vegas1500]

Would you rent to them, including all of the pets?

She says in the video she has good rental references so yes i'd rent to her including the dogs. I don't automatically assume everyone who can't afford something is a horrible person who is shirking responsibilities or purposely made bad decisions in life. i think people just think this way or say these things because they don't want to believe it might be them homeless one day.

You would rent to her....better get a large damage deposit, you're gonna need it.

[BigBearBruno]

I don't want to flip through all 5 pages but is there a reason the 20 year old is not working? I see lots of hiring signs at fast food joints.

[Opeeved]

There are minors homeless. Isnt ministry of families (whatever it's called) mandated by law to do something?

So in essence, if so, they can and should expect government intervention. If its the law then it becomes societies problem and responsibility. Just trying to look at this from all angles rather than just pull up the boot straps.

I would imagine the children would be put into foster care. I highly doubt the Ministry would provide accommodation for a family of 8. (In my opinion,they should not be expected to.) The adults in this family have decided to all live together. (According to earlier interviews, to share expenses). This does not appear to be working.

.....Together we bring in approx. $6,000 income a month, less rent, heat, hydro, food, car expense, telephone, etc. but none of that matters. We are just in-between a ‘no’ for a mortgage as we don’t make enough, and a ‘no’ for a mortgage as we don’t make enough, and a ‘no’ to getting rental assistance because we make to much.

So I am asking you, what do we do? I know there are several working class families at this precise moment who, like us, are in that grey area and it seems like our Government our Province has let us down.

Yes, I understand that affordable housing is being built, but to what avail?
[b]We again will fall into that grey area of making too much money to qualify[/b]. What happens to the working poor who are turned down at all costs? What is our elected government doing to help us? We work hard for our money. We put up with exorbitant rents and never get a break. We are the backbone to our province, but our voiced concerns are not being taken seriously.

We have contacted Habitat for Humanity, only to be told we have too many children and the homes they build are geared toward single parents with 2-3 kids and that the cost to build up a home to fit our needs they could help two families instead of one large family. We have contacted Hope for Society to be told we have to many people as the places are only 2-3 bedrooms, and 8 people just wont fit. We are a large family unit. It is more cost efficient for all of us to pool our money and actually get a suitable accommodation.

--- Even if I was to let my children be stranded, and I found suitable accommodation, I could not afford $1,200-$1,500 a month for an apartment. I have strong family values and as the old saying goes “united we stand, divided we fall.” I could not look at myself if I let my children live on the street in order to satisfy my living accommodations. Family is family.


It is far more realistic, as has already been suggested, for them to live in separate residences. The grandmother has said they don't qualify for assistance programs because their income is too high...it sounds like she has already been given the answer. If they did not all live together,the combined income would be lower and they could qualify for programs. It would also be far easier to find accommodation for a family of 2-4 than a family of 8.

I can appreciate what you're saying. It would appear on surfaces they are being stubborn. I know that gray area they're referring at the same time.
I have no answers but I do think we should recognise there is a serious housing crunch in the OK. I'm pondering a move from my current locale and for the first time in my life the housing situation is a consideration. Never have I seen rent blow so sky high in such short time,and I've rented up and down the valley for 15 years now.

[kgcayenne]

Mark, I was quoting the RTA to point out the flaw in your guess that large numbers of landlords are evicting people under false pretenses. It's not cheap or quick and if a landlord does what you're suggesting they are doing in large numbers, their evicted tenants can go after them. I haven't heard anything about large numbers of landlords going before the RTB arbitrators for illegal evictions lately.

You would be surprised disturbed to learn how many tenants out there don't actually know they have recourse. Dare I suggest that a majority of the people who are RTB-astute and administratively-capable don't get involved with landlords that run their business so poorly.

[entertained]

This is one story. This town is brutal to find reasonable rent. I have a friend that has 2 kids, worked the same job for 20 plus years and can't afford to live here. House beside me is a rental...not rented to a family but to 4 college students that pay 3000.00 per month. Major party house with no respect for anyone else. it's all about money in this town. It's getting worse because it's becoming a big city filling up with greed. If only we can have something in between Mayor Basran and our previous Mayor Shepard. Slow down Kelowna we are growing too fast!

[HorganIsMyHero]

I don't want to flip through all 5 pages but is there a reason the 20 year old is not working? I see lots of hiring signs at fast food joints.

2 People have somehow declared 2 of the kids mentally handicapped. Not to mention just because jobs are "available" doesn't mean that everyone who applied will be hired despite high-horse declamations that old people used to babysit for money 4 decades ago and supported their families and everything ended in a fairy-tale ending.

It's 2017, not 1967. It's a different world and sadly a lot of people don't seem capable of realizing this simple fact.

[LANDM]

I don't want to flip through all 5 pages but is there a reason the 20 year old is not working? I see lots of hiring signs at fast food joints.

2 People have somehow declared 2 of the kids mentally handicapped. Not to mention just because jobs are "available" doesn't mean that everyone who applied will be hired despite high-horse declamations that old people used to babysit for money 4 decades ago and supported their families and everything ended in a fairy-tale ending.

It's 2017, not 1967. It's a different world and sadly a lot of people don't seem capable of realizing this simple fact.

Any response to my suggestion that orchards are always in dire need of pickers? Mexicans get flown up here and make good money picking cherries......why don't the kids do that?
You seem to be obsessed with high horses and that it is 2017.....there's a 2017 job that would be available. But I'm sure there is a great excuse for this also.

[jimmy4321]

I hope they can make a quick buck before winter and use it as a means to relocate elsewhere, east.

[Queen K]

https://tradingeconomics.com/canada/unemployment-rate

According to StatsCan there is a low unemployment rate, a shortage of workers.

Perhaps the 20 year old can capitalize on the new foriegn visa rules limiting aussie's work stay here, including at Big White. Maybe he can apply for work up there and find decent staff accomodations to take pressure off the rest of his family and manage to give them some of his earnings?

That rental houses in the Okanagan have become shockingly expensive isn't much of a surprise. RE prices, increases in insurance premiums and property taxes have all played a minor role in comparison to the numbers of people streaming in here from elsewhere.

[Queen K]

https://www.castanet.net/news/Vernon/20 ... rk-campers

Wow, the war on the homeless is unrelenting. Time limits! Why not just round up people and put them in custody?

So my point is, where do people go, exactly?

No camping in city limits.
No structures.

These people got evicted, costs are astronomical to re-rent a house, with damage deposits, pet damage deposits, re-hook up fees, changing addresses and all kinds of inconvienences that go with it.

I'm getting the impression that they are being pounded in the ground for existing.

[Walking Wounded]

This family really needs to split up, granny needs to find her own place. Without her income the rest of the family would more than likely qualify for some kind of help. When they are back on their feet maybe they can get a place and build an in law suite for granny. They can still help each other out but as long as they have separate addresses they can access the help they need.
Granny would be able to get help too, if my dad can live here on nothing except his CPP and OAS, living alone in a basement suite, she can do it while working.

[lightspeed]

https://www.castanet.net/news/Vernon/204169/Time-limit-on-park-campers

Wow, the war on the homeless is unrelenting. Time limits! Why not just round up people and put them in custody?

So my point is, where do people go, exactly?

No camping in city limits.
No structures.

These people got evicted, costs are astronomical to re-rent a house, with damage deposits, pet damage deposits, re-hook up fees, changing addresses and all kinds of inconvienences that go with it.

I'm getting the impression that they are being pounded in the ground for existing.

I saw some really tidy little row homes in Rutland. Smart, well kept. Good use of space. I thought, that's ideal and just what this community needs.

But developers are building $600k+ town homes with fancy names created by fancy marketing companies, and with granite countertops, instead of $250k budget row homes.

So sad that as a community we're marginalizing the very building blocks of society. Starter homes to give people a step up, stability, shelter, to go on and grow beyond. Rinse and repeat.

There is so little of a "community" left in Kelowna.

[Queen K]

This family really needs to split up, granny needs to find her own place. Without her income the rest of the family would more than likely qualify for some kind of help. When they are back on their feet maybe they can get a place and build an in law suite for granny. They can still help each other out but as long as they have separate addresses they can access the help they need.
Granny would be able to get help too, if my dad can live here on nothing except his CPP and OAS, living alone in a basement suite, she can do it while working.

These people work, they have jobs. You're suggesting welfare fraud, are you not?

[gardengirl]

This family really needs to split up, granny needs to find her own place. Without her income the rest of the family would more than likely qualify for some kind of help. When they are back on their feet maybe they can get a place and build an in law suite for granny. They can still help each other out but as long as they have separate addresses they can access the help they need.
Granny would be able to get help too, if my dad can live here on nothing except his CPP and OAS, living alone in a basement suite, she can do it while working.

These people work, they have jobs. You're suggesting welfare fraud, are you not?

I don't think that is what they are suggesting at all. Gramma may be able to qualify for seniors' housing. She has already told us they don't qualify for programs because the family is too large and their combined income is too high. This is an extended family. If they were not all wanting to be in one house, they could possibly qualify for the programs which are already available. If they were in smaller groups, each groups income would be lower, and it would be easier to find the appropriate size home.

They are looking for a home to accommodate a family of 8. This appears to be much of the problem.