Soon forced to live in her van, she testifies to the housing crisis

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The effects of the housing crisis will soon force a 42-year-old woman to live in her minivan, not having enough money to pay rent. She describes her situation in a viral TikTok video, where she notes that she is not the only victim of the housing shortage.

“I got there. I feel ashamed. I am angry with myself, but also with the government, which manages this like one manages a file. No, it’s not a case, it’s a crisis!” exclaimed Nadia Gagné.

The woman, who lives on the South Shore of Montreal, must find a new place to live after a separation. As she has been a “housewife” for the past seven years, she has little savings.

Maude Larin-Kieran/QMI Agency

Within two weeks, she will therefore be forced to live in her minivan, a solution of last resort. She hopes to live there for eight months, while she collects enough money to find somewhere to live before the cold weather sets in.

“I do delivery with an app sometimes, but the price of gas is expensive and it’s paid below minimum wage… Living in a van is one thing, but I have to have some income too,” she added, saying she was looking for work.

His daily life on TikTok

When she knew she would have to move into her minivan, Ms. Gagné decided to share her experience on TikTok. His first video on the subject, posted on April 29, garnered more than 45,000 views. Since then, she has received numerous testimonies from people who find themselves in a similar situation or who are thinking of adopting the same lifestyle as her.

“I have had a lot of testimonies, even from people who have a house in the suburbs. Everyone feels stuck with the housing crisis. It affects all social classes, everyone,” noted the forty-year-old.

Before arriving at living in her minivan, Ms. Gagné evaluated several options. She considered camping in a tent at a campground or renting a shared room in Montreal, but these options proved too expensive for her budget.

In the metropolis, the average rental price saw a record increase of 7.9%, while the vacancy rate stood at 1.5%, according to data from the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). ).

Under her videos, several subscribers suggest that she apply “for low-income housing (HLM)”, a solution that she considers, however, inaccessible in the short term.

“I was on a waiting list for HLM for several years, but I met my partner who had a good income. So I wasted all my years of waiting and I find myself [dans une situation] worse than before,” said Ms. Gagné.

Nearly 24,000 people were still waiting for one of the 65,000 HLMs located in the Montreal metropolitan area, according to the most recent data from the Montreal Municipal Housing Office. The waiting time can reach several years.

Fear for the future

Now that she has no other choice, Ms. Gagné is “extremely afraid” of what awaits her. “I don’t know the city, I’m afraid of being harassed by the city, by the police.”

Ms. Gagné indicates that she contacted a few organizations that could help her. However, his efforts did not result in a concrete aid plan.