June was a strange month. Although we worked with 24 people, by the end of June only 15 had moved into their new homes and had taken their new belongings from our storage room. Two women, each with a child are part of June’s client count, but they will not be in their new home until July 12. This is their story.

“Azita” and “Dina” are friends. In late May, with their children, both fled domestic violence and found accommodation at a Women’s Shelter. They decided to live together and with the help of their counselor at the shelter, found a basement suite off the North Shore. By sharing housing costs the two friends could manage financially.

Shelter to Home (StoH) was able to provide everything they needed to set up a comfortable home. The day they were to pick up the keys, the new landlord was found to be not trustworthy. Movers had been booked for the next day. Everything had to be cancelled. They were back at square one, with no place to live.

Finding affordable accommodation is the biggest challenge all our clients face.

Again, with the help of shelter workers, the women secured a three bedroom apartment. Their next challenge was booking a moving company. Unfortunately, there was a two week waiting list. By the time they move, Azita and Dina will have been homeless for two months. At StoH, we have a policy that once a client’s name is on a piece of furniture, it must be removed in 7 to 10 days. We made an exception to the rule.

All their furnishings have remained in our storage for almost a month. We feel very fortunate that Highlands United Church has allowed us to have overflow space so we could keep Azita and Dina’s new belongings together, ready for their new home on July 12.