Families face 'hidden homelessness' as Hamilton shelter system is consistently overwhelmed

An accident at work changed everything for Mark Wakiri. 

"November 14th last year I got into an accident which broke my neck and I went under surgery. My C7, C6 [vertebrae] broke," he said. Wakiri was working as a long haul trucker.

A Canadian citizen for over 20 years, Wakiri, 41, said he returned to Uganda frequently, where he met his wife and had children.

While he wasn't able to work, he said he had an opportunity to bring his children to Canada, so they could attend school, while his wife waits to get her visa to join them. 

But he had been renting a room in a house, and with his children joining him, he needed to move — but finding a place big enough has been a challenge, especially while he is still healing, he said. 

Now the father of five is living with his children in Hamilton's shelter system. All six family members sleep in two bunk beds in a one-bedroom unit while Wakiri looks for housing. 

"I'm trying to find a place which can accommodate us all." 

But with the city's family shelter system consistently overwhelmed, Wakiri and his children are part of the lucky few that secure a room at the shelter at all. 

Currently, Hamilton only has 62 total rooms to accommodate families. 

Grace Baldwin, director of the Good Shepherd's Family Centre in Hamilton, says the family centre has 20 of those rooms, which can hold 20 families or around 120 people. 

Hamilton's family shelters have been consistently over capacity since April 2022, according to city data, including overflow hotel rooms for families.

And turnover for rooms is slow. 

Baldwin said it takes an average of 136 days before families can leave the shelter. 

Families experiencing homeless are often forgotten about in discussions about housing, Baldwin said.