Demand for Sudbury women's shelters on the rise

Family break-downs and a poor economy are leading to more women and children becoming homeless in Sudbury, a housing worker says.

A residential services worker at the Salvation Army said demand is growing each year at the 20-bed shelter for women and children, known as Cedar Place.

Theres a lot of people coming in dealing with evictions and couch-surfing, Ashley Grant said.Its just going up.

More than 200 people went through Cedar Place last year, Grant said, and added theirstay can last six weeks.

However, families, including men and children over eight years old, must still go to motels.

'No options'

Cedar Place opened two years ago, and was the shelter a woman namedTinaturned to a few years ago the CBC has agreed not to use her full name to protect her identity.

Tina, once a recovering addict, couldnt stay in a drug rehab housing program because she had a son.

We ended up going to the Salvation Army because I had been homeless ... with my son, she explained.We were kicked out of The Genevra House because I wasnt a battered woman, so I knew the Salvation Army would take me and my son in again.

Tina said at the time, she felt she had nowhere else to turn.

I thought this is absolutely ridiculous, she said.This city is a huge city of 160,000 people and there are no options from women and children in this city in regards to being homeless.

At that time, the Salvation Army paid for a motel room for her and her son for several weeks, she said.

Stay tuned to CBC Radio One in Sudbury and northeastern Ontario all this week for more on this story. Our series is called No Fixed Address and airs on Morning North and Points North, as well as on our local newscasts.