In Thunder Bay, dismal, dank rooming house offers shelter, if little else

THUNDER BAY, Ont. – The sign at the back of this old church in Thunder Bay reminds passers-by to make sure the door stays closed at night.

Pass under the lone light bulb in the entranceway, past an untamed cable and utility box and down a few steps, and you come to the living room where Vince Maratt and Stephane Boyer spend time in their basement rooming house.

The fabric on the couches is fraying, the colour fading in the lounge chair. Cardboard covers a hole in the vinyl floor before Boyer moves the couch along the far wall to cover the cardboard.

A cat — one of the pets who live here — walks in and paws at the back of the couch, apparently looking for mice.

Each of their bedrooms has enough space for a double bed, a dresser, maybe even a television. Boyer’s room has a fridge and enough space for a bed for his puppy.

At the end of the narrow hall between rooms is another door, propped open with a crutch. Maratt ascends the staircase past the front door to the church and to the landing at the entrance to the sanctuary, not even noticing the buildup of dirt or the crumpled bag of dog treats next to a grimy pillow.

The pews are gone. At the front is a pea-soup yellow cross flanked by seafoam green walls.——

Maratt looks down from the balcony at the bird droppings and the piles of pigeon feathers.

In this city where homelessness is on the rise, substandard or illegal rentals or rooming houses remain the only option for those with little money to their name, or stretching whatever welfare payments they receive.

“There is some pretty — to use the term loosely — sketchy housing situations, which are completely housed with mental health and addictions clients with poor functioning or no functioning plumbing, electrical,” said Ken Mackenzie, a nurse practitioner with one of Thunder Bay’s outreach services.

“There are several agencies who won’t access a lot of that housing as well — you know, ‘It’s unsafe, we’re not going in there.’”