Apartment more affordable but not fit to live in, mom tells N.L. Housing
Lindsay Whiffen, a mother of two young children, was excited to move into her new home provided by the Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation this week, but when she got the keys the place was in shambles.
Located on Hoyles Avenue in St. John's, the unit had pieces of gum stuck to the floors, Q-Tips and hair elastics scattered throughout, trash in the stairwell, dust and dirt everywhere.
"I just basically want somewhere that I feel safe with my children," Whiffen told CBC News Thursday.
"You can make home [anywhere] within reason, but when I'm in my kitchen cooking supper for my kids and looking at a door that looks like a jail cell is that really fair?"
Whiffen said she applied to N.L. Housing when she realized that paying $1,100 a month for a place for herself and her kids in Paradise was something she couldn't afford.
She's working on going back to school because of a lack of jobs in her field.
"I have a pipefitting trade, but unfortunately there's no work. So it's not like I'm just sitting home on my ass, trying to collect money from the government and taking advantage. I'm trying to better my children's lives so they don't have to live in this situation."
Whiffen believes everyone deserves a safe and clean living space.
"If I were renting, paying $1,000 as opposed to yes, having low income, is it still fair that I come into a filthy home and [have to] clean all this mess?"
NL Housing bases its rental rates on a means test which considers a tenant's income and expenses.
N.L. Housing working on fix
When she brought her complaints to an N.L. Housing official, she said she was initially told that if she refused to sign the lease, it would be a year before she was given another chance to apply for affordable housing.
But after she brought her complaints to the media, N.L. Housing said they would clean up the mess.
"We do about 400 vacancies a year on the Avalon, very rarely does this happen," said Paul Abbott, the crown corporation's eastern regional director.
"I guess there was a breakdown in the process, so we certainly apologize for that. The fact that it's been brought to our attention, any action that's required to correct the problem or follow up on the address will certainly be done."
