Over the past year, the number of unhoused individuals in Toronto relying on food banks has surged by an alarming 420% (Who’s Hungry 2024). These Torontonians, without a place to call home, endure their days with insufficient food, precarious jobs, and inadequate social support, resulting in uncertain futures. Among them is Leo.
“I’ve been couch-surfing, homeless, whatever you want to call it, for the last four to five months or so,” he said. “So right now, I’m just doing that at a friend’s house, but that’s going to change this weekend. I’m going to somebody else’s house. So my life is, you know…in a little bit of turmoil right now.”
Leo was married, had kids, and two decades of experience as a carpenter in the trades when he hit unemployment about a year ago. “I got really bad into drugs and alcohol and that kind of took over my life for a while,” he said. “Just recently, like five months ago, I stopped everything and am trying to turn my life around again.”
But it’s been an uphill climb. For someone who has never asked for help before, applying for Ontario Works (OW) was a significant challenge. “I’ve done everything myself since I was 15 years old, been on my own, so for me to ask for help, even me being on OW, it’s kind of like…makes me feel belittled, I guess is the best way for me to say it,” he said. “I don’t like taking handouts.”
Leo recently found part-time work doing renovations for a realtor, but it’s not enough to cover his basic needs. “Not enough hours for me to survive,” he said. “I sacrifice with food. That’s my main… sacrifice. I’ve got children too. So, like anything I get extra, I give to them.”
Leo is eager to return to school and acquire new skills to transition into a different career, as he realizes that continuing in physically demanding jobs is not sustainable for him. However, he is concerned that his age might make the process of studying more stressful and challenging: “I’m going to have to stop working and live on OSAP or whatever it is, and I don’t know, it’s another stress for the future, I guess.”
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