HEADLINE

:  Toronto residents wait 7 to 10 years for affordable housing.

TITLE

The long lineup for affordable housing

NAME

Copyright 2002 by Charles Mitchell

FILE

 

DATE

Summer 2002

 

 

 

Rogers Television News

 

VIDEO

AUDIO

B-roll: (Tape 1), 03:45:40 &

(Tape 2): 00:00:01

V.O…SAHRA ABDI LIVES IN A HOMELESS SHELTER ON KINGSTON ROAD.  SHE SHARES TWO SMALL ROOMS, WITH HER HUSBAND AND SEVEN CHILDREN.

SOT 03:36:04 TO 03:36:12 (Tape 1) Abdi

One room you can’t fill one room with seven kids myself and my husband.  It’s too hard to live.

 B-Roll 03:46:48 & (cutaway to (Tape 2) 00:02:00

 

V.O…ABDI USED TO LIVE IN A RENTED CONDOMINIUM, WITH HER LARGE FAMILY, BUT WHEN HER LANDLORD RAISED THE RENT THIS PAST SUMMER, SHE WAS FORCED TO MOVE.  HER HUSBAND WAS LAID OFF, AND SHE WAS IN SCHOOL.  THEY HAD NOWHERE TO GO.

SOT: 03:34:18 TO 03:34:31 (Tape 1) Abdi

But if I can try to rent four bedrooms because I’m big family of nine. Seven children myself and my husband, it’s too high, 1500 plus utilities and I can’t afford that.

 B-roll: 03:47:45 (Tape 1)  cutaway to  03:47:37

ABDI AND HER FAMILY CAME TO CANADA IN 1993, FROM SOMALIA - TO ESCAPE THE HORRORS, OF A BRUTAL CIVIL WAR.  SHE SAYS WOMEN WERE BEING RAPED.

SOT: 03:30:44 to 03:30:52 (Tape 1) Abdi

For the rape.  They come inside the house and then they take the women at nighttime and the men, they kill each other.

B-roll (Tape 3)

06:37:20 & (Tape 2) 00:01:15

V.O…ABDI IS AMONG 62, 000 PEOPLE WHO ARE ON THE WAITING LIST FOR SUBSIDIZED HOUSING IN TORONTO.  BECAUSE OF A LACK OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN CITY, MANY PEOPLE ARE FORCED TO LIVE IN TEMPORARY SHELTERS.  ABDI HAS BEEN ON THE WAITING LIST FOR NINE YEARS.

 SOT: 03:38:44 TO 03:38:44 (Tape 1) Abdi

They say you are a large family you need four bedrooms or five bedrooms then you have to wait twelve years.

B-Roll:  (Tape 3) 06:36:55 & 06:39:45 & (Brad and Norm Tape) 11:24:45

V.O… GETTING INTO SUBSIDIZED HOUSING WORKS ON A POINTS SYSTEM.  THOSE WHO ARE UNDER 18, THOSE IN ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIPS, AND THOSE WHO ARE HOMELESS AND LIVE IN TEMPORARY SHELTERS, ARE HIGH ON THE LIST.  TORONTO COUNCILLOR BRAD DUGUID IS ON THE BOARD OF THE TORONTO COMMUNITY HOUSING CORPORATION. 

SOT: 11:18:21 to 11:18:30

(Brad/Norm tape)

Duguid

So it doesn’t mean if you’re number 62,000 you’ll never get in.  If you’re high needs you may get in, but if you’re not, you’ll have a long wait. 

B-Roll (Tape 3) 06:36:20 & (Tape 1) 04:32:30

 

V.O…HOWEVER, ACCORDING TO PUBLISHED REPORTS THE AVERAGE WAIT TIME FOR SUBSIDIZED HOUSING IS NOW ANYWHERE FROM SEVEN TO TEN YEARS.  WILLIAM HOOPER AND HIS FINANCE PATTY FISH HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR SUBSIDIZED HOUSING FOR TWO YEARS  --THEY SAY THEY ARE FED UP .

SOT: 03:55:10 to 03:55:23 (Tape 1) Hooper

I’m ready to say to heck with it all and just leave.  I’m getting so sick and tired.  I just wanna leave everything and go on my own basically but I can’t cause I have my fiancée that I have to worry about.

B-Roll:  (Tape 1) 04:34:00 (end on pan to TV as cutaway)

V.O…HOOPER MOVED TO TORONTO FROM SASKATCHEWAN IN THE EARLY NINETIES.  ALTHOUGH HE HAS A CRIMINAL RECORD —INCLUDING ROBBERY, AND DRUG RELATED OFFENSES, HOOPER SAYS HE’S REFORMED. 

Butt Clips (Tape 1) 03:52:05 to 03:52:33 and 03:53:24:33 to 03:53:33

B-roll over butt clip: 04:36:37 (Tape 1 end B-roll on pan to to shelf) Hooper

Right from the start I came to Toronto and ended up on the streets, me and Patty.  And I was on the streets of Toronto for about six years back and forth in incarceration and just got tired of being incarcerated and living on the streets.// (butt clip) //I don’t want to live on the streets.  I don’t wanna live below anybody else.  I wanna be treated the way anyone else would be.

 B-roll: 04:32:30 (Tape 1) & (Tape 3) 06:33:51

V.O…WHEN HOOPER MET FISH, SHE WAS IN A VIOLENT RELATIONSHIP.   SHE DIDN’T HAVE A PLACE TO STAY, AND LOST HER THREE KIDS TO CHILDREN’S AID.  SHE NOW LIVES IN A SHELTER.  HOOPER BELIEVES THEIR SITUATION, AND HIS PAST ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE LAW, MAKES IT HARD FOR THEM TO FIND AFFORDABLE HOUSING.

SOT: 03:54:04 to 03:54:18 (Tape 1) Hooper

We always get 101 different excuses why they wouldn’t rent to us.  We don’t accept welfare …or the places are just too much.

Buttclip// (Brad and Norm Tape) 11:21:36 to 1121:47 Duguid

We need affordable housing that’s what we need.  People shouldn’t need to rely on the state.  They should be able to find housing that’s affordable to them somewhere in their community.

 B-Roll: (Tape 1) 04:33:31 &

Cutaway to hands (04:34:50)

V.O…FOR FISH, LIFE IN THE SHELTER SYSTEM IS DIFFICULT.  EVEN THOUGH THERE’S A ROOF OVER HER HEAD, SHE’S NEVER SURE HOW LONG IT WILL BE THERE.

SOT: (Tape 1), 04:28:18 to: 04:28:31, Fish

If you wanna go away for a week, we can’t without worrying about if we’re gonna have a place to come back to and find out that our rooms and our beds have been given away.

BRIDGE:

Charles, Tape 2:

04:57:29 to 04:57:29

 

WHILE MANY PEOPLE LIVING IN TEMPORARY SHELTERS IN THIS AREA STRUGGLE TO GET BY, RIGHT ALONG THIS SAME STREET ARE THE VERY SUBSIDIZED HOUSING COMPLEXES THEY ARE TRYING SO DESPERATELY TO GET INTO.

B-roll (Tape 2) 04:51:02 cutaway to 04:45:10

V.O…SEVENTY-TWO YEAR OLD VIOLENT YEDON, HAS BEEN LIVING IN SUBSIDIZED HOUSING FOR MOST OF HER LIFE.  SHE SAYS WHILE IT TOOK HER A COUPLE OF YEARS TO GET IN, IT WAS WORTH IT.  SHE OFFERS WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT FOR THOSE WHO ARE ON WAITING LISTS.

SOT: Tape 2: 04:43:08 to 04:43:44, Yedon

Keep on trying.  Keep on trying.  You don’t give up cause one day there will be a spot for you.

B-roll: (Tape 2) 00:00:40 &

(Tape 1) 03:48:55 you can run this video over next sound bite.

AS FOR ABDI, WHILE SHE WORRIES ABOUT WHAT IMPACT SHELTER LIFE WILL HAVE ON HER CHILDREN, SHE’S IN HER LAST SEMESTER OF A NURSING DIPLOMA AND HER HUSBAND IS FINISHING UP A FORKLIFT CERTIFICATION.  SO, FOR NOW, SHE REMAINS OPTIMISTIC ABOUT THE FUTURE.

SOT: 03:43:56 to 03:44:04 (Tape 1) Abdi

Today it’s my dream.  Tomorrow will be my achievement.  That’s what I’m expecting now.

B-Roll: Stock Footage street crowd scenes.  Or/ and apartment buildings.

V.O… RECENTLY, THE ONTARIO GOVERNMENT, FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND TORONTO MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCED A JOINT PLAN TO BUILD A 92-UNIT AFFORDABLE HOUSING COMPLEX IN SCARBOROUGH.  IN ADDITION, THE PROVINCE ALSO MADE PUBLIC, PLANS TO SUPPORT AN ADDITIONAL 1000 UNITS, FOR THOSE WHO ARE HOMELESS OR ARE AT RISK FOR BEING HOMELESS.

Stand-up (Tape 3)

06:44:37 to 06:44:55

THE FEAR FOR MANY PEOPLE ON SUBSIDIZED HOUSING LISTS IS THAT THEY’LL END UP ON THE STREETS BEFORE THEY FIND A PERMANENT HOME.  HOWEVER, SHELTER STAFF WORK HARD TO ENSURE THAT CURRENT RESIDENTS ALWAYS HAVE A PLACE TO STAY…FROM GREENBRAE AND LAWRENCE I’M CHARLES MITCHELL REPORTING FOR SCARBOROUGH NEWS, (ROGERS TELEVISION) …

 

 

 

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