Couple spent 5 months on brink of homelessness despite using many community, gov't resources

When Clint Saulteaux and Georgette 'Marie' Robinson imagined their life together, they never thought they'd one day find themselves living in a motel on the brink of homelessness.

Since April they said they have used at least 15 Regina community resources to help them get back on their feet and into stable housing. But they've been met by barrier after barrier. At one point they even looked into getting a tent, fearing they'd be on the street.

Then finally on Sunday morning, the couple learned the Regina community had rallied together over the weekend to get them past a final barrier, and into safe affordable housing.

Saulteaux, of Carry the Kettle Nakoda First Nation in Saskatchewan, and Robinson, of Pimicikamak Cree Nation in Manitoba, first met at a treatment centre in her province in 2015. Saulteaux, who has been sober for 36 years, frequently visited centres to share his story of recovery.

When he first met Robinson, she was getting clean from crystal meth. She fell into addiction after the father of her children was murdered in front of her and their kids.

"That was part of her trauma, and the fact that I was listening to a young single woman talk about wanting to be clean from all of this was what drew me to her at first," said Saulteaux, who was also a single parent at the time.

Georgette 'Marie' Robinson has struggled with crystal meth addiction at times in her life. She relapsed during the pandemic after her mother suddenly died of COVID-19. (Laura Sciarpelletti/CBC)

"I was being attracted to her resilience. Overcoming it all, still laughing, still having a good sense of humour."

Robinson got clean and the two fell in love in 2017. They had two children together, in addition to Robinson's three young children, and moved to the Regina's North Central neighbourhood in 2020.

"We were fast becoming a well-known little family because we took our children everywhere with us and people respected that, especially marginalized people. And they liked the fact that we were clean. They could tell we were clean," Saulteaux said.

Then hardship hit once again.

(CBC News)

Illness and heartbreak

Robinson's mother Lucy got sick with cancer in 2021. Robinson went back to Manitoba to be with her mother as she underwent treatment and saw traditional healers.

Lucy was given only six months to live, but ultimately recovered. But soon she was feeling sick again. After going to hospital to get checked out in 2022, she contracted COVID-19 and died.

"It was really traumatic for us and especially for Marie. She was devastated," Saulteaux said.

Marie Robinson's beloved mother Lucy Robinson before she died due to COVID-19 in 2022. (Submitted by Marie Robinson)

Robinson relapsed, returning to alcohol and crystal meth like she had when the father of her children was killed.

Eventually child and family services told Saulteaux that Robinson couldn't be in the house, even when sober. At first he took care of the five children by himself. But he grew increasingly worried about Robinson.

"She's not from here and it was in the winter time and she has no family here. I wasn't going to let her suffer out in the streets. And so when she wanted to come back to stay clean, I let her."

As a result, their five children were apprehended, which devastated the couple.

Marie Robinson and Clint Saulteaux with their two youngest children. (Submitted by Clint Saulteaux)

Saulteaux focused on getting Robinson clean long-term, taking her to meetings every day.

"We would get connected to the community. We'd see elders, we would go to ceremonies. We took parenting classes."

Losing the children meant losing their child tax benefits. They said their income assistance amount also dropped significantly. Because Saulteaux needed to be with Robinson at all times to support her as she fought addiction, he said working was not an option. The couple was unable to afford their house and utilities anymore, fell behind on payments and were evicted in March.

Searching for a home

Saulteaux and Robinson lived in a van for a while, then moved into a motel in April at a cost of $400 weekly, or $1,600 a month.

They struggled for four months to make rent, combining SIS benefits with help from both their reserves and other resources, including Jordan's Principle, which focuses on getting First Nations children and their families the help they need.

In the meantime, they tried to rent a one bedroom, but were "blacklisted" due to their past eviction, according to Saulteaux.

"I couldn't explain all of our circumstances in the application forms. When we went in person, we'd have a better chance, except that they would look at Marie, who was not fully herself yet," he said.

"They weren't giving us a chance."

Since April, the couple has tapped every resource available to those who are struggling in Regina — including Carmichael Outreach, Foxvalley Counseling, The Circle Project and Prairie Spirit Connections.

"They became our heroes — people that treat us with respect," he said.

Saulteaux and Robinson applied through housing agencies and had people advocating for landlords to rent to them.

Then in July, the Regina Housing Authority sent the couple an acceptance letter for a five-bedroom house at an affordable rate. But the couple would need their children with them to occupy the whole house. Saulteaux asked them if they could get a smaller unit for just the two of them while they got back on their feet, but was told that was not an option at the time.

Roger Parenteau, executive director of housing operations with the Saskatchewan Housing Corporation, said the waiting list for Regina Housing Authority units is prioritized on affordability, ability and suitability, rather than a first-come first-serve basis.

The Queen City Wellness Pharmacy in Regina supports Indigenous people who call and ask for help. Clint Saulteaux and Marie Robinson go to 'wellbriety' meetings there regularly. (Submitted by JoLee Sasakamoose)

He said the Regina Housing Authority has about 3,000 low-income units.

"Out of the 3,000 there's probably about more than 1,500 that would be housing for seniors. Other housing that we would have would be for families, and we do have a small portfolio of one-bedroom units for what we call non-elderly singles," Parentaeu said.

There are only between 100 and 200 such units, and those are in high demand.

Parenteau said the Saskatchewan Housing Corporation is struggling with unit turnover in multiple cities, including Regina. He said it is working hard to get newly vacant units in rent-ready condition, but it's taking longer and longer due to increased damage to units. Contractor and worker availability is in short supply as well. Parenteau said fixing up the units between tenants can take up to six months.

"There's incidents where there's drug use and signs of meth use. There's situations where whole kitchen cabinets have to be removed or bathrooms have to be renewed."

Parenteau said this complicates waiting times for people like Saulteaux and Robinson.

Clint Saulteaux was told he could have their kids returned to him if he didn't allow his partner Georgette 'Marie' Robinson to live with them or visit. He decided to help her get sober and on her feet again so they could get their kids back together. (Laura Sciarpelletti/CBC)

In sickness and in health

At one point, Saulteaux contacted Alysia Johnson of Rally Around Homelessness with a request for a tent. He said he and Robinson were behind on their payments to the motel and could be homeless any day.

"I was shocked and dismayed at how much work they were putting in and how little traction they were getting. My heart broke," Johnson said.

"When people get married they always say til' death do us part … in sickness and in health … in good times and bad. A lot of people forget about the last parts. And I was just really struck by Clint's dedication to sticking by Marie's side and being her support person."

The homeless advocate said supportive organizations in the city have similar "toolboxes" for helping people. But she also said none of the non-profits are sufficiently funded.

"We all struggle with having enough housing workers. But beyond that, there aren't enough affordable units. So it doesn't matter how many workers you have sometimes … you can only do so much with what you have."

Alysia Johnson of Rally Around Homelessness said many Regina non-profit organizations have been trying to help Clint Saulteaux and Marie Robinson get the housing they need so they can eventually get their children back. (Laura Sciarpelletti/CBC)

Meanwhile, Robinson had been struggling to get into detox and treatment centres due to long waitlists, so the couple used traditional methods. She has now been sober for more than a month.

In early August, Saulteaux and Robinson were approved to move into a basement suite. The landlord received positive character references and told the couple he would take a chance on them, Saulteaux said.

But this good news had a catch. The couple must have SaskPower set up their utilities at the new place, but still had an outstanding debt with the Crown service from when they fell behind on payments at their old home in March.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday the Regina Housing Authority told them they finally had a small unit available, but it's in North Central. Robinson said she could not risk going back to a neighbourhood where she said drugs are prevalent.

Crossing the finish line

When CBC checked in with Saulteaux and Robinson on Friday, they were running out of time to move into the basement suite. They had to have the outstanding debt, which is more than $1,000, paid by Monday.

Then, with 24 hours to spare, Johnson told CBC Sunday morning that Rally Around Homelessness had managed to fundraise the $1,000 for SaskPower, and then some. She said they received generous donations from Regina's Sikh community, the queer community, Everyday Kitchen and others.

"We are citizens at our core, and long before government and politics and all of that, people were taking care of each other. And that's how society thrived, and that's how civilization worked," said Johnson.

"I think that it's just a natural thing to want to figure out how to take care of your neighbours. And when the systems aren't working, people want to work it out together."

Some Regina homeless advocates said Saulteaux and Robinson shouldn't have had to be on the brink of homelessness for as long as they were while regularly using such a long list of community and government resources.

But the couple are touched by what their community has done.

"The thing about living on the margins is that there's a lot of opportunities to have your faith restored in humanity through the goodness of others," said Saulteaux.

They move into their new home Monday afternoon — one step closer to reuniting their family and healing together.