Have you ever felt insecure about having a roof over your head? For more and more people – young and old – in Victoria and Vancouver, the concept of having a secure place to live is becoming an unattainable goal.
Today, I spoke with a friend who was evicted from her apartment. Far from a wild party animal, she is a quiet, well-mannered adult who lives alone. The reason for the eviction: she disputed a 12 per cent rental increase, which is not legal. This is just one example; there are reno-victions to consider, too, and I’m sure you know of other disheartening stories. Protection for renters – especially senior renters – is lacking.
When I speak to different groups of seniors, I often talk about how easy it is to cocoon, closing oneself off from the rest of the world. This is not a good option as it leads to feelings of isolation. What happened to a helping community? Does it exist anymore in our increasingly independent way of living?
Somehow, we need to find a way to create communities like Babayaga (a community of senior women living together in France). My sense is that this is no longer just a nice idea, it is becoming a necessity. If we don’t do something radical soon, we are going to see more and more seniors becoming homeless.
When I first sold my house several years ago and made the decision to house and pet sit, I often joked that after many years of being a homeowner, I was now homeless. My daughter would get upset with me, “Mom, stop talking like that.” Then, it was a joke (to me). Now, it’s not so funny.
With our years of life experience and multifaceted areas of expertise, surely, we seniors can come up with an answer that will benefit our communities.
Let’s get together and brainstorm some solutions that will help those of us who are older and cannot – or don’t want to – have the responsibility of being a homeowner.
If you have an idea or two and are willing to share them, let’s get together and see what we can do, who we can talk to, and who might listen to our challenges.
Let’s screw up our courageous and see what changes we can make together.
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Pat Nichol is a speaker and published author. Connect with her at mpatnichol@gmail.com.