A young family is looking for a home after a fire ripped through their Campbell River apartment earlier this month.
“It couldn’t have come at a more, worse time,” said the displaced Cassandra Simms.
The fire blazed through their home on April 8, and Cassandra and her family have been living out of a hotel ever since. This temporary solution is provided by emergency services, but only until Wednesday. She has not been able to find a new home due to a tight rental market and shutdowns from COVID-19.
Cassandra’s eyes filled up with tears when her three-year-old son asked why they could not go home.
“We just tell him that our house is broken,” explained the Campbell River mother of two. “We don’t want him to remember that it was burning.”
Her partner Phillip George said living in a hotel is not ideal with two young boys.
“I can’t even tell you how badly we need a place,” said Phillips.
The fire caused 85 people to lose their homes all at the same time, and now they are all looking for new places to live.
“We’ve got my mom looking,” she said.
“We’ve got my sister in Saskatoon looking for us.”
With no rentals available in the area, the family extended their search from Campbell river to Duncan, and with a maximum budget of $1200, the Simms are not having any luck.
“Especially when you have two young kids and don’t have a job at the moment. It’s very stressful,” said Cassandra.
The shortage of affordable housing on Vancouver Island has been compounded by a pandemic, and now with 85 people trying find homes in Campbell River, the search is even harder.
The Simms family, like many others, are left homeless and are hoping for an extension of funding to get them through their darkest time yet.
Skye Ryan
