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Editor's Note: For the next six weeks, we will be writing on key issue-related topics leading up to the October municipal elections. This week, we look at the issue of homelessness in Northumberland County.

Waiting to meet with a woman from St. Vincent de Paul in Cobourg to get some food vouchers after fixing the zipper on their tent that holds most of their possessions were priorities for the day for Matthew and Jill recently.

Matthew put a temporary fix on the zipper, as many of their possessions are in the tent, although some stay with them in backpacks that they carry when going out. Jill noted it was important that the tent be “jimmy-rigged shut.”

“People like going into your tent when you’re not there and (you’re) coming back and your tent door is wide open, and half your stuff is gone or things like that. It makes it a little extra difficult,” she explained.

As house prices, rental accommodations, and living costs in Canada have risen to excessive levels, so has the number of people experiencing homelessness.

Matthew, 41, and Jill, 30, (not their real names for privacy as they have a school-age child) are two of them.

Currently living rough in an encampment in Cobourg, the young couple has lived together for more than 11 years. They’ve been homeless for most of the past year-and-a-half.

They lived with Jill’s father in Roseneath this past winter, but after the deaths of her grandparents, life became harder, for her father and for them, too.

They were all living together, trying to survive on Ontario Works (OW), the couple said.

They decided to leave Roseneath for Cobourg in early March for several reasons, said Jill.

“My dad is on OW, too. He is in the same boat as us. We could tell he was getting stressed out.

“He was running out of options and so were we. We thought we would lighten his load. Now he just has to worry about himself.”

The couple also said they felt isolated living in Roseneath, as they don’t own a car, therefore having no access to needed services, grocery stores and more.

They have a school-aged son, who’s currently living with her mother while the couple sort out their lives, the couple said.

“He’s with her mom, staying there where he has a stable home until we can find something to get him back,” said Matthew.

“I can’t drag him around here, so she agreed to take him,” added Jill. “He’s got a routine and food in the fridge every day — all that kind of stuff.”

Living rough is “terrible,” said Jill. “The weather, the walking and everything else.

“We’re on assistance of $340 a month (each), and we’re stretching that for the whole month. We don’t have anything to keep our food cold in or to warm it up because you can’t have a fire because then bylaw finds you.

“You’re pretty much moving every couple of days and that’s a lot to cart around every couple of days.”

They get food from the local food bank, as well as attend bag lunch opportunities around town. They rely on the kindness of friends where they can shower, said Matthew, adding that they also use the beach bathrooms and port-a-potties around town.

They have tried the shelter system and were allowed to stay in nearby motels during the pandemic. Being a couple, however, has been a hurdle to securing shelter.

“When you go into a shelter, we can’t be together unless they put us in a motel and that was only during COVID (restrictions). So, you’re separated, and I don’t like that as it is,” said Jill.

As the days are getting shorter and winter is approaching, both agree it’s likely they’ll spend the fall and winter living in their tent.

“We have no plans for winter. We’re trying to work out our options. Right now, it’s not looking great,” said Matthew, adding the Green Wood Coalition has already helped the couple get a tent, as well as sleeping bags and food vouchers.

Matthew said he’s trying to find work.

“I go on the internet on my Indeed account. I usually send out a few resumes a day. I’ve got the odd job for a day or two here or there but haven’t got anything stable,” said Matthew, adding that’s especially difficult “getting to work and then worrying about her, too.”

“He doesn’t love leaving me alone in the tent,” said Jill.

Matthew believes a lack of good clothing has hampered him in his job search.

“They say there are a lot of jobs out there, but if I go for a job dressed like I am right now, I (am not) going to get a job at 90 per cent of them. They take appearance into consideration,” he said.

Asked if the Town of Cobourg has provided any help to those coping with homelessness, Matthew said, “I don’t think so.”

“Port Hope is allowing camping everywhere. I think (in) Cobourg, they have that image they don’t want to wreck. When you think about it, you don’t see any of us who are camping anyway.

“We’re usually off, secluded somewhere away from everybody. I don’t know why they get the feeling that if they allow it it’s going to get out of control.”

If there’s a silver lining to living rough, Jill said it is the tight-knit community that has developed among others who are experiencing homelessness.

“A lot of times something like that will happen (a friend, who’s also homeless, dropped off pizza for the couple),” said Jill. “We all try to look out for each other. There are always that few, but for the most part we all try to take care of each other.”

When it comes to understanding and alleviating the housing crisis, municipalities need to first prioritize listening to the people experiencing homelessness in an authentic way, said David Sheffield, the Green Wood Coalition’s executive director.

“They are the experts and often have ideas that institutions haven’t discovered. Municipalities also need to change their way of thinking about homelessness being a pathology of certain individuals, understanding that it is the result of a complex set of factors.

“Working within the usual boxes of policy is failing many people and causing additional suffering. If we are going to restore a healthy balance to our communities, then leaders in our municipalities will need to be open to creative ideas and questioning every barrier to the rapid increase of safe, attainable housing for everyone.”

STORY BEHIND THE STORY: We caught up with area residents and advocates to delve into the housing crisis – an issue at the forefront of the upcoming municipal election.

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