BY TRACEY DUGUAY
A Sudbury woman is afraid to go home but red tape in the social housing system is preventing her from moving.
It?s been around five months since Sue Hammond (not her real name) was forced to leave the rent-geared-to-income apartment she?s lived in for close to two years. She was staying at Genevra House, a shelter for abused women. But this was only temporary until she could find alternative living arrangements.
Her nightmare began when a man she was dating, as well as an acquaintance of the couple, sexually and physically assaulted her.
Charges were laid against the men and she filed a restraining order against one of them, but the situation wasn?t getting any better.
?I went through hell with these two individuals for almost a year,? Hammond says.
Because the men knew where she lived, they?ve waited outside her building and have accosted her on the street, she says.
Even though the men can?t get into her secured apartment, they created a culture of fear for Hammond every time she had to leave her unit.
Not being able to stand the constant fear, she eventually moved into Genevra House, where the second phase of her nightmare began.
She requested an expedited transfer to a new housing unit under the criteria of special priority status, a ranking system put in place to assist the
victims of domestic violence.
Hammond was shocked to discover she didn?t quality for this special status because she wasn?t living with her abuser at the time.
According to the criteria, as outlined in Appendix A of the 11-page Application for Rent-Geared-To-Income Assistance, basically special priority status is given only to people who have been victims of domestic abuse by someone who resides within the dwelling with them.
?I just think it doesn?t really matter whether the abuse occurs inside your unit, outside your unit or whether you?re living together,? Hammond says with frustration.
?If you?re being abused, then you?re being abused. I don?t understand why they are not helping.?
The City of Greater Sudbury administers the social housing registry program.
Denis Desmeules, manager of Housing Services for the city, says they are just following legislation contained within the Social Housing Reform Act of 2000, implemented by the provincial government.
Before the Mike Harris government devolved the housing portfolio to municipalities a few years ago, they created a modified chronological system for social housing applicants, which basically means ?first come, first serve.?
Desmeules explains that prior to this new system, decisions regarding social housing waiting lists were based on home visits and a ranking system.
However, the government decided the old system was getting too complicated and subjective, so they created a more generic approach.
To address the issue of domestic violence, Desmeules says the provincial government created one group or type of criteria under the modified
chronological system, known as special priority status, that takes precedence over all other applications.
?Under the housing legislation, they looked at domestic violence and said ?if an individual is living with an abuser, take them out of there?,?
Desmeules says. ?For those people who are applying for rent-geared-to-income housing and who are in a situation where they are living with an abuser, they don?t go to the bottom of the list, they got to the top.?
But, if a person doesn?t live with their abuser, the same level of urgency or priority doesn?t exist, says Desmeules.
?Someone who is not living with the abuser is not in the same category as someone who is,? Desmeules says.
In Hammond?s case, the housing authorities declined her application based on the provincial standards, even though she submitted all the supporting
documentation required on the application to verify her abuse.
?You?ve been dealing with the police for months and months and then they tell you ?well, you have to go back to your unit? and deal with it again. I just think it?s further abuse,? she says.
?The management of social housing registry are in a position to help but they just choose not to help. They don?t make any exception to their rules, and that?s usually what an appeal is for so they can look at your special circumstances...?
However, Desmeules reiterates his department?s hands are tied because the province is the one that created the system and conducts audits on municipal service managers to ensure the legislation is being followed correctly.
His position is validated by Toni Farley, the director of the Social Housing Branch, Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing in Toronto.
?The criteria for special priority status is related to the urgency/risk of abuse and municipal service managers are to adhere to the policy,? Farley says.
After her priority status application was denied, housing authorities agreed to put Hammond on another high priority list referred to as Special Urgent, which is usually reserved for homeless people.
She was offered a social housing unit in the downtown core but refused it because it was located in an area frequented by her male assailants.
Due to her refusal of the unit, and the fact that so many people are on the housing registry waiting list, Hammond?s name was put on the bottom on the regular request for transfer list, which contains more than 1,000 names. She can expect to wait as long as two years.
At this point, she has no choice but to return to her existing unit or look for market rent accommodations, an option she?s not happy with because she can?t afford it.
?I?m personally not in a position to do that. A lot of places require first and last months? rent and if I did that I wouldn?t be able to eat,? Hammond says.
?It took me over two years to get the unit and I think that if you?re in government housing, it?s their responsibility to help you.?
While Desmeules couldn?t comment specifically on the case for confidentiality reasons, he says housing is just one small part of the whole domestic violence equation. While he can help someone in Hammond?s position by guaranteeing she has a safe and secure unit, the rest of it is up to the police, legal system, criminal courts and other agencies that exist to help victims of domestic violence.
Although it may only be a small consolation to someone like Hammond, the province is currently undergoing a review of its domestic violence program and the Special priority status.
?The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing is currently developing options to strengthen the special priority policy within the broader context of the government?s domestic violence strategy.
The ministry has heard concerns from key stakeholders about the Special Priority policy and its implications.
Among the issues to be discussed or reviewed will be the criteria for special priority status,? Farley explains.
Unfortunately, any changes that come from the government review will probably to be too late to help Hammond since she needs to find housing immediately and is running out of options.
All she knows is that she doesn?t want to return to the unit that?s been the site of so much terror for her.
?I really don?t know what I?m going to do,? she says. ?If you have to keep calling police and going through the court system, it?s really stressful and
re-traumatizes you. You?re living in a constant state of fear. You just can?t keep going through that over and over again.?
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