Older Women Turn to Roommates to Make Ends Meet Amid Rising Living Costs
Image by: unsplash
As rent and grocery prices rise, some older women in Canada are struggling to make ends meet. While older adults often face poverty, women who tend to live longer than men are particularly affected, according to the Institute of Aging's 2023-28 strategic plan. Katherine Goodes, a 67-year-old editor in the education sector, decided to move in with three strangers to make her basic expenses more affordable. Goodes turned to Senior Women Living Together, a non-profit connecting older women who want to share homes due to financial issues or loneliness, and is set to move into a farmhouse east of Norwood, Ontario, with three other housemates in June. The new living situation will see her pay $600 in rent a month, less than half of what she pays for her current apartment.
Pat Dunn, the founder of Senior Women Living Together, says her organization has helped Goodes and 46 other older women to find housemates across Ontario since it was established in 2019. Dunn, who now lives with two other women herself, struggled economically after her husband died when she was 64. At one point, she says, she started googling how to safely live in her own car. There are financial support programs available for older Canadians, but there is a lack of support specifically for the economic challenges older women face, according to Dunn. Indigenous and immigrant women, as well as non-binary and transgender individuals, may also earn less during their working years due to labour market discrimination, making them more likely to live in poverty later in life.
Read the full article on: CP24
