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Homeless N.L. man lives on $175 a month. Federal housing monitor says it’s not enough
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — People on government income support programs are increasingly ending up in tents or homeless encampments, community workers said as they applauded Canada’s housing advocate’s recent call to boost minimum wages and social assistance rates.
Colin Young lives in an emergency shelter in St. John’s, where he gets $175 a month through the province’s income support program, in addition to meals, a bedroom and a roof over his head. He’s grateful for all of it, he said in a recent interview — it’s far better than sleeping in tents and a downtown parking garage, which he’d been doing since he was evicted from his last apartment in 2021.
But the money isn’t enough for the things he says will help him find a job and secure permanent housing, Young said.
With more money, he said, “I’d be able to get clean shoes, I’d be able to take care of myself, I’d be able to go out and actually get a job, look productive in society.