Indigenous grandmother, living with 14 people, hopes for federal housing support | Canada Tonight

The federal government announced $9 billion in new money over the next five years in this new budget for Indigenous communities. Some big line items include Indigenous Family Services, health and education. There’s also some $900 million for housing and community infrastructure. Indigenous leaders have long said that they are in dire need of funding on that file. So for more on that file, we’re now joined by Debbie Harper. She lives in her home with 14 family members in the remote Manitoba First Nation of Saint Teresa Point, and the home is in desperate need of repairs. We’ve reached her today in Winnipeg. Debbie, thanks so much for being with us. Hi. Hey, hi And you know and thank you, thank you so much for taking the time here to to Share your story. I want to start by asking you. I mean, I I painted a little bit of a picture there, but but what’s it like day-to-day living with all those family members in in a home the size of yours? Hectic. It is hectic. It gets very tiring, especially like it’s 24/7. Like it’s like we take turns going in the room, go to sleep. So that way we have enough rest. It kind of feels like a musical room and musical bed for us. Sometimes in our home we have my son had to move out out of the house. We used to sleep in the living room on a we we had a single mattress available because we didn’t have enough rooms to to stay. And my son, who has epilepsy, couldn’t handle being in the home because of the constant traffic. It’s like there was a lot of people in the home, including the noise, including the noise. So he built himself a shack in the back outside, a very poorly made shack. And because when he was in the home, because of the constant busyness of the home, it kind of feels like Christmas in in a mall in our house. The screaming, the the nonstop, nonstop are the kids acting because of us. We have do have special needs children in our home. So he had to move out because he would end up having seizures in the middle of the in the middle of the day because he can’t handle too much people in the home, including the noise. I’m I’m thinking Debbie, that it would be a lot for anyone in particular as you say your son who has special needs. We were just looking at some pictures of your home and it’s clear that it’s in need of repair and and I’m looking at that, we looked at the pictures of I think the the shack in the back that that your son built and that’s that’s kind of incredible to imagine somebody having to go to those lengths and and live in that situation. Why or or how do you go about or how why haven’t you been able to to get the repairs done to the home or or even another home because obviously there’s need. OK, we don’t have any accessibility to buy building materials that that would be like a dream for us. Like for instance, for instance, like it’s a isolated community. Even if I want to ship a 2 by 4 it would cost me double that just to send it back to my community and at the same time it’s a waiting game for us. Even if I went to go buy a board, a plywood, a sheet of plywood cost us $50, whereas in the city or any building materials that we want to buy, it would only cost us $20. And then at the same time there was winter road and we have this global warming happening in our in in the world. It affects us it it affects us because of the winter Rd. travel that we have and we only have a a span of six weeks to try and send all the materials that we need. I I sent a box of nails which is about £50. It ended up costing me $150.00 just to send a box. And Debbie talking about money here, Yeah, I I mean it sounds incredibly difficult and on the point of money here. The budget’s just been announced 900 million specifically for housing for First Nations communities, 900 million. When a box of nails is costing, you know more than $100, how far is that going to take? You do? Does this budget give you hope? Yes, it does. At least like for instance in my community, there’s a populace in the 5000, right? And in that 5000, there’s 640 homes in that community. We’re behind 600 and 5070 homes and each of these homes and that’s 640 homes. Like me, I have four families living in my home and there’s a lot of social issues because of that, because it is not healthy to have four families in the same home, in a three bedroom home, and it’s about 900 square feet or it’s not much, but we do manage. But at the same time, this is bringing hope for my community that maybe some of it can go to those families that are starting it. You know, my son gives me hope that my son will finally have a home instead of a shelter built out of tarp and and scraps of wood that he collected around the community. We tried building 1 before, but it was just too expensive. We even tried saving a couple of dollars a month to to try and save some money for winter Rd. season and at the same time we’re we’re we’re we have trouble getting a Trunk King company to bring all the materials that we that is needed for our home. We have even right now as we speak we have a broken window in in one of my my grandchildren’s home room because because of our special needs children that I living in my home he he he couldn’t handle. It’s like one child is like A10 child in one and then when he got too emotional he reacted violently and it’s only a 5 year old and he he broke that window and now we’re behind in building a window. Now we have no window and we don’t even know where to how to ship it because at the same time when we want to ship something it takes months to finally get something into our community because food is a priority and plus medicine is a priority. The chief and counsel I feel sorry for them because it’s Debbie. Your story is one that so many Canadians don’t relate to, but it’s an important story for them to understand. And and thank you so much for sharing the story because it really, it puts, it paints a picture of what real life in the federal budget and and how it all potentially connects and what it’s actually going toward. Debbie Harper lives in her home with 14 family members in the remote Manitoban First Nation of Saint Teresa Point. Debbie, I really appreciate talking you tonight. Thank you. OK. Thank you.