Emotional stories rise from rally cry to reverse rent supplement cuts

When Roberta Fehr first applied for a Saskatchewanrental housing supplement, her sense of self-reliance took a hit.

About 10years earlier, she had felt a similar surge of pride, oneso strong she became homeless before finally going on social assistance.

"I hate being on the government programs because I'm relying on somebody else to give me my money," she said.

But Fehr said she needed the social assistance, and had no other choice -she had been pushed out of the workforce when a large mixing bowl fell on her and left her disabled.

Depression, anxiety, chronic nerve pain, panic attacks and other disabilities left her unable to support herself financially.

Even now with the rental supplement, she said she is $80 short for herrent and needs to pull the money from her food budget.

The province stopped accepting new applicants for itsrental supplement at the end of June. It was a cut the governmentexpectsto save $5 million this budget year.

On Saturday, opposition politicians and housing advocates gathered with a crowd of about 30 people to denounce the cut and call on the province to reverse it.

The province's rationale forthe cut was that low vacancy rates the reasonfor introducing the supplement in the first place in 2005 was no longer an issue and that lower-cost Sask Housing Authority units are now sitting vacant.

The supplement amountsto $84 to $364 per month, on top of regular Social Servicesbenefits.

The province has also said thedecision was based on the fact that a new federal housing benefit will beintroduced in 2020.

'I'm constantly on eggshells'

Fehr said she's uneasy even though she remains on the supplement. Theprovincesaid it plans to continue it for those who have already been approved.

"You're under so many rules and laws that they tell you, 'if you want this money this is what you have to do'. So I'm constantly on eggshells. Because, I mean, I could get cut off this program at any time," she said.

Fehr advocatesfor equal housing opportunities for marginalized and disabled people. It's an unpaid job, and the $256 she gets per month through the supplement is a lifeline.

She is critical of the province's decision.

"I have no idea where their heart is and where their thinking is because the more and more people you have that are on the streets, the more and more it's going to cost you money. And most of the people who are on the streets are people who are disabled," Fehr said.

'Without a home, you have nothing'

She and others at the rally emphasizedsocial costs of the cut, which they said will directly cause more homelessness in the city.

"Without a home, you have nothing," Fehr said.

At the microphone, Elder Marjorie Beaucage said she has seen young people go in and out of jail, ending up back on the street because of inadequate housing support. She said the prevalence of Indigenous people on the streets is "wrong."

"What people need is a home. If they have security, if they have a place to belong, then all of these problems will go away. You know it's the most important thing," she said.

A petition was passed around calling on the provinceto restore the rental housing supplement.

NDP MLA Cathy Sproule noted that people raising their voices has caused the province to reverse budget cuts in the past, and encouraged people use their voice now.