City senior living in car with no home in future
By Steffanie Costigan - Lethbridge Herald Local Journalism Initiative Reporter on August 1, 2023.
Some people look forward to their retirement; however, with the increasing housing crisis in Canada, many seniors are finding themselves left homeless or living out of their vehicles.Lise Souliere is one of those seniors’ experiencing homelessness – she has been living out of her vehicle for approximately nine years now.
Souliere – who didn’t want to be photographed for this story – told The Herald in a recent interview it’s important for seniors to keep their vehicles during times of financial troubles.
“The reason why they need to keep their vehicles is because when they end up on the street, they’re old, they can’t pack a load of stuff. And they have to stay warm. So the vehicle is a second home, it’s a roof over your head and prevents you from getting soaked in the rain, prevents you from freezing, getting frostbite,” said Souliere, who has dealt with various health issues including cancer.
A financial adviser involved with Souliere, who will remain anonymous, said Souliere’s situation hasn’t been a secret.
“She was very upfront about the fact that she had been living in her vehicle. For years, everybody was aware of that. It wasn’t a secret that she tried to hide or anything, she told everybody.
“And in particular during COVID, she literally had a cardiac incident, and was hospitalized for it. They released her knowing full well that she had nowhere to go. And that person that had just had a cardiac incident will be living in her car, even though it was like 100 degrees outside.”
Souliere will soon be celebrating her 70th birthday in her vehicle. Her ongoing health issues include a diagnosis of colon cancer.
Souliere did have an apartment for low-income people but it had an age cap and she was expected to find different accommodations.
Upon finding another place to live, Souliere was approved for financing for a new vehicle, but the payments which were so high she couldn’t afford them as well as rent.
So she put her belongings into storage and began living in the car.
And she’s struggling to find a place because renters are leery because she’s of where she lives.
Tragically, she also lost her furniture and belongings after they were auctioned off by the storage place. Her phone got stolen and the storage unit operator couldn’t reach her and ended up getting rid of her belongings.
Souliere said homelessness can happen to anyone’s grandparents.
“I think people need to wake up and smell the coffee because that one day it is going to be your grandparents. It’s going to be family members – people need to wake up. Times have changed.”
Souliere worked hard cleaning office buildings until she reached 68, stopping due to her health situation.
The financial adviser said she started convincing Souliere to seek out housing and even assisted her after office hours.
She explained the challenge of finding Souliere housing accommodations.
“They did just basically explain that she didn’t have enough income to be able to get a place. And I think it’s like a wide misconception that seniors can get residences utilizing 30 per cent of their income, which does not seem to be the case at all.
“And in fact, there’s even not enough places for the amount of seniors that need places. And she keeps getting passed up over and over again for people that have a higher income.”
Souliere, at the beginning of winter last year, experienced frostbite from falling asleep in her vehicle when the temperature dropped to extreme lows. With emotion in her voice, Souliere expressed her concern for younger generations and emphasized the importance of them saving money.
“We don’t want them to end up like us. We’re hoping the world would get better. But I don’t think it is going to get any better. It is getting worse. That’s why I keep telling you, save everything you can, save it. Everything you can, pay the minimum what you need to pay for your bills a month and just keep doing that because you just don’t know what’s gonna happen. It doesn’t look like it’s gonna get any better.”
The financial adviser said attempts to get Souliere housing have met with no success.
She added that she feels Souliere’s mental health has deteriorated during the wait.
“My mental health would totally deteriorate if I had lived in my car for a week. Never mind nine years.”
Souliere said the elderly homeless avoid going to the soup kitchen because they believe others need it more than them.
“Well, the reason why is because all our lives we worked hard, we fed our families. . . so we’re used to being the money makers.”
The advisor said Souliere has fallen through the cracks of the housing system.
Souliere said in the 1940s and’50s people used to invite homeless individuals in for Christmas dinner but changing times have influenced other’s willingness to show goodwill. She stated she has noticed a decline in charity towards others and a rise in selfishness.
“People are selfish, you know, don’t want to share, and it’s heartbreaking, and we’re supposed to be good Christians.” 2
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