The housing crisis is heavy on the hearts of survivors in B.C.
Several volunteers at Shelter Movers Vancouver have helped survivors move their belongings to a storage unit, only to discover they had nowhere to move to next. In the best-case scenarios, the survivor finds a spare room with friends and family or stays in a temporary shelter. At worst, they set up makeshift beds in the backseat of a car, or trying to find a safe street for their children to sleep on that night.
And those are the ones who have escaped their abusers. Across B.C., countless survivors are staying in violent homes because they have nowhere else to go. If you have to choose between abuse and living on the streets, is it really a choice at all?
A Hard Look at Housing
As of October 2023, the median rental price for a two-bedroom apartment in Vancouver is close to $4,000, and the overall vacancy rate is less than 1%. It is a crushing market. Across B.C., 16% of renters spend more than half their income on rent and utilities – a “crisis-level” amount, and more than in any other province.
What the statistics do not show is the number of homes in need of major repairs or those where too many tenants squeeze into absurdly small spaces. Moreover, research shows that the rental crisis disproportionately affects households led by women and/or racialized individuals, who are more vulnerable to a surge in prices.
These conditions make finding a new home extremely difficult for even the best-prepared tenants. And they make it nearly impossible for those fleeing abuse.
Pressure cooker conditions for survivors
For survivors planning their escape, B.C.’s low vacancy rate means greater scrutiny from landlords and less time to sign a lease added to the huge financial burden of moving. These factors add extreme stress to an already panic-inducing situation. Survivors with children need to account for child care, school registrations, and transport, all while keeping their escape a secret from their abuser.
Setting time aside to check rental postings, go to showings, and hop on calls with agents requires additional planning for survivors. Having to navigate around an abuser’s schedule and moods means every call can feel risky. If the survivor has not already found a safe shelter, seeking safety can lead to an escalation of violence from their abuser, including murder.
Moreover, if a survivor has suffered financial abuse – a common tactic used by abusers to gain power in a relationship – they may no longer have control over their bank accounts or could have been forced to quit their job. In some cases, the survivors’ credit score could be ruined by debts and bills their abuser has racked up. For those who are employed, moving could mean losing their job – their one buffer against economic precarity. Meanwhile, the stress and trauma of abuse can make the overwhelming process of house-hunting unbearable. These things pile up to make talking to prospective landlords a punishing task.
Shelters can buy survivors time and give them some much-needed relief. However, whether they’re currently living with their abusers or have recently fled from violence, not a day goes by when survivors do not feel the urgency of their situation. Too often, the housing options they are provided are temporary and the short deadlines they are given to move out do not give them time to find new homes.
There is a reason why it is common to see survivors move into smaller units, basements, and ill-equipped apartments away from services and schools. The options are often extremely limited and their mental, financial, and emotional resources are stretched thin.
Hope to Fix a Broken System
“Call back in a few weeks and we will see where we are at,” is a sentence too many survivors have heard from shelter providers.
While B.C. supports more than 110 transition houses and safe homes for women at risk of violence, this is well below what is needed to cope with demand. Violence against women and other survivors is shockingly prevalent and hundreds of survivors in need are turned away from shelters every night in B.C.
In addition to those directly escaping violence, survivors who have long left an abusive relationship could also require housing services. Without the right services in place, a survivor who has been free from violence for years may return to their abuser because of an affordability crunch. After making the brave decision to break free from violence, setbacks caused by the housing crisis can be devastating for a survivors’ progress.
The organizations dedicated to housing require more consistent funding to invest in better services. As of now, too many shelters only provide crisis housing and are not able to extend housing beyond temporary arrangements. This dynamic can often set survivors up to feel like a burden while the staff feels helpless to provide them with a real, permanent solution.
Experts agree the housing crisis shows a lack of foresight, direction, and planning from governments. In B.C., the situation reflects decades of failure to invest in affordable housing. One source of hope is a new Women’s Transition Housing Fund Program. In 2018, the provincial government set aside $734 million to build and operate 1,500 new housing units for women within ten years.
However, safe and affordable housing is still relentlessly difficult to come by. Shelter wait lists are full and staff are burning out fast. Beyond advocating for survivors’ safety, it will take all of us to create a system where safety is a viable option. As the rates of violent abuse make headlines in Canada, we advocate for more attention to be focused on empowering shelters, stakeholders, and survivors through the housing crisis.
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