‘Nowhere to go’: Springdale woman living without power as she awaits another rental

Earlier this week, Pam Thomas woke up to snow on her car and frost on the ground outside her Springdale home.

As the calendar slowly heads toward November, it didn’t surprise her to see winter creeping closer.

But for Thomas, the snow means her struggle is only getting harder.

She’s been living in her Springdale home for three weeks without power after it was shut off because of issues with her rental.

That’s meant three weeks of making sure her home’s wood stove is burning. Three weeks of cooking outside when she can and making sure her three pets are as comfortable as possible. That’s on top of working as well.

With no place to go and rental units out of her price range, Thomas has refused to move until she can find a place suitable for her and her pets.

“I’ve been living now without power for three weeks with nowhere else to go,” said Thomas.

The issue for Thomas started earlier this fall when a government inspector showed up at her rental property and started poking around.

They found issues with the property and immediately ordered the shutdown of the power and water.

Thomas, along with her landlord, was asked to leave the property immediately.

Thomas had lived in her home for three years and hadn’t noticed anything before the inspection.

Now, she’s looking at having to move from her home with her three pets — a dog, cat and rabbit.

“I am so worried about the whole situation,” said Thomas. “It’s not a good feeling. I’ve been losing hope and feeling depressed. I’m not sure what my options are.”

With winter closing in, Thomas’ prospects for future shelter are not the best.

The rental market in Springdale isn’t the most robust, and that shrinks further when you consider her three pets, which she says must go with her.

As a single, working mother, any landlord she’s reached out to doesn’t want pets in their rentals.

That, coupled with the price — which is $1,400 in some cases — is out of Thomas’ price range.

“This situation has caused my anxiety to flare up and then making my blood pressure go up,” she said. “It’s caused me to not eat or sleep because I am so worried about the whole situation.”

To try and find any solution, Thomas has been reaching out to whoever she can to get some help with her situation.

That started with her local MHA, Lin Paddock, before moving on to Newfoundland and Labrador Housing for assistance.

The results of those queries have been mixed at best.

While the government offered her some temporary housing at a local hotel, Thomas can’t take her pets, making that option a non-starter for her.

She’s found her way onto a waiting list for NL Housing, but there aren’t any units available in Springdale.

There might be ones elsewhere, but Thomas doesn’t want to move out of the town, either. It’s where she and her daughter have built their lives, and they want to stay.

“My daughter and I work here, and it took us months to get these jobs,” said Thomas. “We don’t want to have to face that again by moving to another town and be months looking for work.”

When you think of homelessness, you don’t automatically think of rural Newfoundland as a place where you’d have trouble finding accommodations.

Still, that’s exactly the case.

“Housing issues, housing challenges, and homelessness is very real in rural communities,” said Sherri Chippett, executive director of the NL Housing and Homelessness Network.

“It’s just that it’s more hidden, and people don’t realize, and not even the homelessness, but the housing challenges. There’s so many people at risk of becoming homeless for many reasons.”

Things like affordability and the cost of living, along with the cost of renting a unit — plus the small size of the market — often contribute to a heightened price.

Chippett said they’re seeing more and more people being given notice that their heat and light will be cut off or an eviction is coming.

“It’s mind-blowing sometimes to see what they’re dealing with, and the people that are a paycheck away from losing their home,” said Chippett. “It’s really bad.”

Part of the environment that’s causing strain and stress for potential renters is the lack of available properties.

That fact, coupled with the increase in people who need housing, creates a market of supply and demand where landlords can hike prices.

In parts of rural NL, a rental unit that was going for $750 a few years ago is now over $1,000 these days.

“I think it comes down to the supply and demand,” said Chippett. “It’s just that there are so many people looking for housing. There’s just not enough adequate housing.”

Over the last couple of months, the provincial government has announced measures to help address the problem.

Housing projects have been announced across the province in hopes of alleviating the pressure.

For Chippett, that’s a good first step, but it’s time to start being proactive instead of reacting to it.

“We need to get beyond what I’ll call band-aid solutions, and we need to address the bigger problems,” she said.

That does little to help Thomas and others like her.

As winter gets closer, she’s still making it work as best she can, but it’s less than ideal.

“I have run out of options as to where else to look for help,” said Thomas.