A Barrie woman is hoping to bring some awareness to what she calls a “gap” when it comes to services for female seniors in need of help in the city
“There’s a whole lost section of society. (If you) get into an emergency situation and you’re 55 or older as a woman, you don’t have addiction or mental health issues, you’re not leaving an abusive relationship … (or) there isn’t anything that matches the criteria," said Scherrel Romczuk. "You have no emergency shelter.”
Romczuk says she recently found herself forced to sleep in her car after discovering multiple health and safety issues in her basement apartment in the Holly area.
Romczuk, who has been renting the apartment in the city’s south end for the last year, said that in addition to fleas being discovered in both the walls and the duct work, the windows were screwed shut and the safety bars on the window could not be opened in the case of an emergency.
“It was a pig with lipstick. It looked nice, but there was more trouble and problems with it than I thought,” she said. “The first thing that happened was there were mice. I never saw any traps, (but) my cat killed a lot.
"Then a mouse chewed through a waterline between the floors and that almost leaked into the main breaker board for the house.”
Due to the mice infestation never being addressed by the landlord, Romczuk said the walls have been full of fleas and, despite her best efforts, she’s been forced to throw away her mattress and several rugs.
While she’s been working to salvage some of her belongings — she’s in the process of getting everything cleaned and moved into a nearby storage locker — Romczuk says she’s now sleeping in her car to avoid even more exposure to fleas.
“It was so bad. My cat is in foster care. I can’t sleep in there because I was advised that it’s not a good idea,” she said through tears. “I can’t stay in there and I am sleeping in my car.”
Romczuk says she had been working three jobs to cover the rent for the last year, which she said was $1,700 per month, but since this issue with the fleas began, she’s been unable to work two of her jobs for fear she’d bring fleas into those buildings inadvertently.
As upsetting as all of this has been for Romczuk, she says it’s served as a real “eye-opener” for her as she’s attempted to navigate the social services in the area, and ultimately finding there simply are no services available for a senior in her position.
“The Salvation Army program (won’t) take me in the family program because (I) don’t have children. Elizabeth Fry, even if they took me, it’s two days … but I don’t have a criminal background. The women’s shelter won’t take me…”
Now down to one income, Romczuk says she's struggling to find even a room to rent. She believes she’s also fighting against ageism in her attempts to find somewhere to lay her head.
“Most people are renting to younger people or a very specific type of person. I can’t afford anything, but I’ve got nowhere to go," she said. "My family is out of town and can’t afford to help me move,” she said. “I am down to one income now and nothing is affordable. I am stuck in a car and there’s no support for me.
"People don’t realize this, that there’s this segment of society that can’t even get that support when it’s needed.”
Editor's note: While Canadian citizens can receive Old Age Security at age 65, some government programs recognize seniors as being 55 and older.
