KJIPUKTUK (Halifax) – Lack of affordable housing is just as pressing a problem in Nova Scotia’s rural towns as it is in Halifax. It just looks and feels a little differently.
That’s the message of a fast moving documentary by students of the Antigonish County Adult Learning Association (ACALA) and local independent filmmaker Peter Murphy.
Meet Holly, 20 years old. In those 20 years she moved 21 times, six times since she became a single mother. Holly is always on the lookout for that rare apartment that is both affordable and livable. “It’s not a good feeling,” Holly tells us in the video.
Anne and Jerry, parents of four children, struggle to make ends meet. They were given all of nine days to vacate their apartment and find a new place to live.
And then there is Fran, self-proclaimed “veteran schizophrenia sufferer”, who has to leave her home of twenty years. “I don’t know how I will be able to afford it”, says Fran in the video, “money will have to come from my food budget.
Just give this video five minutes of your time. Chances are that you’ll end up watching the entire thing. It’s that good.