[homeles_ot-l] Herongate help

[Herongate Tenant Coalition]

Dear Ottawa non-profit and homeslessness network,

We are asking for groups to write letters and words of support for the
tenants struggling in Herongate. Post to social media and send to your
email listservs. Finally, send them to our:

MPP John Fraser: fraser.mpp.co at liberal.ola.org
Councillor Jean Cloutier: jean.cloutier at ottawa.ca
Neighbouring Councillor Diane Deans: diane.deans at ottawa.ca
MP David McGuinty: DAVID.MCGUINTY at PARL.GC.CA
Mayor Jim Watson: Jim.Watson at ottawa.ca

We are demanding to STOP THE EVICTIONS and that we have the right to stay
in our neighbourhood and prevent the destruction of a very tight-knit,
low-income and racialized community from being torn apart.

There is family after family that is already struggling to pay rent to
Timbercreek. Most tenants are paying market rent which is around $1,500.
Having to move far away from your community and pay over $2,000 plus
utilities and parking will make life unbelievably difficult for families.
Having 100 families compete on the market at the same time has driven
housing prices through the roof in Ottawa, and there is nowhere for them to
go.

One single mother of four, who's husband passed just over two weeks ago,
has no place to go. Timbercreek is charging her for her back door which was
broken into, but she doesn't have the money to pay them so they've put up a
piece of plywood where her back door should be. She has had cockroaches for
five years and Timbercreek has done nothing. Previously, she paid
Timbercreek $700 cash to fix her broken bathroom counter, then was not
given a receipt. She is being abused because she has language barriers and
she is a single mother on subsidy.

Another single mother of four is undergoing major heart surgery in July and
needs rest for three months after. Under extreme pressure, she found a new
place far away, but it's smaller and over $2,000 a month, plus utilities
and parking. Only after signing the new lease did it set in that she
doesn't know how she will even pay for it. She has been overwhelmed with
tears and lack of sleep since. She will have to get another job, her
teenage children will have to go to work to cover the costs of housing, or
she will risk losing her new place.

People are struggling, and many will likely end up in the shelter system.
They are too afraid to speak publicly to the media, but they know the
importance of their stories. We are struggling in Herongate and the City
and Timbecreek don't want to help us. They want to eradicate our
neighbourhood and the community that supports each other, making life
manageable.

This is the largest eviction and displacement campaign in Canada. If the
government is serious about declaring Housing as a Human Right, we need to
stop these evictions and prevent the displacement of a massive low-income
and racialized community.

Sincerely,

Herongate Tenant Coalition
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