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Cancer Patient Battles Homelessness, Waits Years for Housing
9 Oct
Summary
- A 49-year-old woman with a brain tumor has been homeless since 2015.
- She has been on the social housing waitlist for eight-and-a-half years.
- Housing policy prioritizes need over application date, disadvantaging singles.
Phoebe Nadezo, a 49-year-old resident of Behchokǫ̀, N.W.T., has been fighting cancer and homelessness simultaneously. Diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2017, she has been unhoused since 2015, relying on temporary house-sitting arrangements that are strained by her severe cancer symptoms.
Nadezo has been on the social housing waitlist for eight-and-a-half years, awaiting a single-unit dwelling. Housing N.W.T. states the average wait time is two years, but Nadezo has been repeatedly bypassed for units. The territory's housing allocation policy prioritizes urgent need, health risks, and family size over application dates, which disadvantages older single individuals.
This challenging situation has led Nadezo to express feelings of despair and a sense of giving up on securing housing. Unhoused women in the region also face vulnerability, with some unit holders reportedly requesting sexual favors in exchange for shelter. Jane Weyallon Armstrong, the MLA for Monfwi, is actively lobbying the Minister's office daily to address these critical housing issues.
