Sofia’s Story

“I’ve got nowhere else to go.” For years, Sophia has been working 2 jobs to keep up with the bills. But after the holidays, she started getting fewer shifts at the store and ended up short on rent one month, then another. She found herself having to choose between paying the rent and buying groceries, always with the hope that next month things might be better. A tense encounter with her landlord resulted in an eviction, and Sophia found herself standing in front of Tracy, the Family Support Worker at The Salvation Army, with her spouse and 3 kids, explaining how she found herself suddenly homeless on a Friday afternoon. 

“I’ve got nowhere else to go,” she said, eyes cast downward in shame.

Now imagine that you are Tracy—charged with helping families who are homeless get back on their feet—knowing that Barrie does not have a single unit available for families in a crisis.

The County and The Salvation Army created a motel voucher program to fill the gap temporarily, but Tracy has seen the way of displacing families in trauma into one shared motel room—with nowhere to cook or eat meals, no place to do laundry or homework—complicates an already difficult situation. Without an address or telephone number to put on housing or job applications, it is nearly impossible to move forward. 

This was the situation that compelled Tracy to reach out to Redwood Park Communities. 

Now imagine your sister, daughter, or friend in Sophia’s shoes. What would you be willing to do to change their story?