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Carla Dawson hasn't added a story.
(Picture above of my daughters and mother previous to the original eviction notice my mother received back in April.)
We are in need of many items and to cover many costs to make this move possible, and make 'Christmas' happen for my children!
Financial contributions will be used
- To cover transportation costs via water taxi to and from Kingcome Inlet
- To cover transportation costs via river boat up and down the river to the village of Kingcome Inlet
- To cover fuel costs of transporting items from the north island, via. vehicle.
- To secure January rent, and/or security deposits for housing
- To purchase totes (with lids) to use to pack our items and move. We have to move in this wet winter weather, and travel by open speed boat, water taxi and vehicle.
- To possibly purchase storage until we obtain permanent housing for my mother and brother
- To purchase Christmas items, i.e. stocking stuffers, presents. Our family are not frivolous spenders when it comes to Xmas however I'd like to be able to give them something at least.
- To acquire legal advice, and/or representation.
Physical and in-kind donations accepted for any of the above, as well.
Below is background information on how and why we are in this unfair situation.
An Eviction Letter for Christmas!
While most families are gearing up for the upcoming Christmas holidays, there are many families in need of basic necessities such as food, clothing, and shelter. A lack of affordable housing is prevalent in many Aboriginal communities across Canada, and the small reservation of Kingcome Inlet is far from exempt. However, despite the festiveness of the holidays the Dzawada’enuw First Nation (DFN) has handed out an eviction letter – just in time for Christmas. My family of six, in addition to my mother and brother, has till the 23rd to be packed and moved out of our rental house of five (5) years. The complexities and financial implications regarding the logistics of this are colossal!
The story begins back in April of this year when my mother and brother were evicted from a private family home they were occupying, by a traditional chief and his family who lay claim to the house. Before the eviction date of July 1st, my mother was told by the DFN that there were no available housing units to rent despite the empty house situated next to mine. My mother’s name has been on the DFN’s housing list since the year 2007, however many homes have been filled and yet she has not ever been offered a unit.
Below is a basic summary of events leading to our eviction:
- July 1st - At this point, I did what any daughter would do and took my mother and my brother in. They moved into our yard, and lived in tents all summer long with the intent of erecting dome shelters (one for each of them) upon elevated platforms outside the boundary of our social housing lot. They utilized our bathroom and kitchen facilities.
- Ten days later my husband and I received a letter from the DFN stating that we were in breach of our Tenancy Agreement for altering the property/premises (which hadn’t been done), taking action that would void insurance (no specifications to this nor copies of insurance given), and allowing people to permanently occupy the premises (permanent defined by their policies as 21 days plus).
- On July 15th, my husband Clyde was required to sign our annual tenancy agreement. He requested to add my mother and brother’s name to the document and under the observation of the Housing representative he did so.
- A few meetings with the DFN Committee, Council and members of Administration occurred to try resolving the situation. In these meetings, it was later divulged that the load on the sewage tank was of major concern. There was no valid or reasonable solutions put forward by the leaders of our community to address the overall housing issue.
- Summer passed and my mother was never able to put up her domes as the DFN (administration?) interfered with the process, and put a stop to the contractor hired to complete the work. Nevertheless, she had to pay the contractor for the materials and work not done, and to this day is still in debt for the cost of the domes.
- As of September 7th, Clyde and I have taken up a second and temporary residence off reserve with our children. This decision was spontaneously made in order to accommodate my mother’s need for shelter through the winter, as she has a full time job to tend to. Other factors that affected this decision: take burden off the sewage system (as per DFN’s concern), give more time and space for all parties involved - to buy time, so to speak for new solutions to arise. As my mom and Allan were previously listed on the Tenancy Agreement we trusted that allowing them to stay at the house would not be an issue. Clyde would also be returning monthly to fulfill business contract deliverables to the DFN.
- On November 14th, we received the initial eviction notice from the DFN Administration. The decision to do so apparently came from the DFN Housing Committee, but was not rightly ratified by Council.
- Clyde followed up with the elected Chief Councillor (also traditional chief, mentioned above) and was told, “not to worry” about moving out as he thought our decision to temporarily leave was a good solution that “bought us all time.” We then awaited new direction on the issue.
- December 13th we received the email that Council had discussed the eviction issue and we were served another eviction notice, with a ten (10) day time frame.
Through all these months, and the numerous emails/letters and meetings we have not received clear communications from one person overseeing the issue, or speaking on behalf of a certain body. Sometimes, we have received correspondence from the DFN Band Manager, other times the Housing worker (in training?) and sometimes they are stated to be from the viewpoint of the committee and/or under council’s direction. It has been very confusing, especially as the issues and/or supposed breaches regarding our tenancy seem to lack consistency in the above said correspondence/meetings and do not seem to follow any due process, i.e. policies.
Isn’t access to adequate shelter considered a basic human right? Is it not “unconstitutional to deprive homeless people of shelter when they have nowhere else to go.”[1]My mother took it upon herself to remedy her housing needs but was denied this. We took it upon ourselves to give her a roof over her head, and we are now being penalized for it. Where is the justice and humanity? Certainly not in the community I once considered ‘home.’
[1]http://www.redtents.org/learn/housing-is-a-right regarding The Victoria (City) v. Adams case.
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