'I don't want to go back in the streets': One woman's fight against eviction

Jessica Rickard, a Cree woman from Moose Factory, is telling the story of how she landed in Sudbury, Ont., when someone knocks on her door. 

The case manager who handles her social housing contract with the Ontario Aboriginal Housing Services (OAHS) has come to let her know she'll be evicted in the next 30 minutes. 

This isn't Rickard's first eviction. Before being housed by OAHS, she was alternating between living in the Memorial Park encampment, shelters and parking lots.

"I'm so tired of being kicked out," said Rickard. 

On the table of the living room, multiple warning letters from OAHS are piled up. They ask Rickard to clear and clean her unit or risk eviction.

Since moving into this home 15 months ago, Rickard has accumulated different items in her apartment. Every room is filled with bins, bags, objects, electronics and clothing.

It's a habit she picked up when experiencing homelessness between 2014 and 2021.

"When you live in the streets, you hang on to anything and everything you possibly can, because at the time, it's everything you have, it's the only thing you have." 

This is something Ali Farooq has seen often.

As a project manager with Go-Give, an outreach group based in Sudbury, he is familiar with the problems that can sometimes arise when people transition from homelessness to being housed.

"[Hoarding objects] can be a survival instinct or reflex," said Farooq. 

"It comes down to mental conditions, as well as past traumas where people acquire more and more items. They don't necessarily have a use for them, but it makes sense in their head." 

He said "eviction is not the solution, but unfortunately it is the most common outcome." 

OAHS has declined an interview request, stating they cannot comment on individual cases. However, they said they welcome opportunities to work with tenants to resolve issues. 

In the last warning letters OAHS sent Rickard before giving her an eviction notice, the agency offered some cleaning supplies. 

"I'm frustrated because I need help," said Rickard. "I have a lot of pain in my shoulder and can't lift anything." 

I saw so many friends die while living downtown. So many overdoses. I don't want to go back to that.- Jessica Rickard

According to Rickard, her case manager offered to help her lift items out of the apartment, but had to back out of that offer because of staffing shortages. 

When hearing that Rickard was facing imminent eviction, Go-Give tried to intervene. 

"We only stepped in at this point because we don't want to duplicate services," said Farooq. 

But he believes OAHS should have done much more than send written warnings and offer cleaning supplies. 

"She didn't receive the help she needed to complete the task," he said. "She was not given any alternative or solution to dispose of these items. 

"Just being told, 'You need to clean this out and you have X amount of time,' almost freezes a person because they are not capable of completing that task," said Farooq.

Go-Give offered to hire a junk-removal company if OAHS agreed to give Rickard another chance. 

Rickard said she would have been happy to consent to that happening. 

"It would be a huge relief. There's way too much stuff here."

But according to Farooq, the agency believes Rickard has had enough warnings and they will go ahead with the eviction planned for today (April 18). 

"I don't want to go back to the streets," said Rickard. 

She said those years experiencing homelessness were some of the worst years of her life. 

"I saw so many friends die while living downtown, so many overdoses. I don't want to go back to that."

But with her OAHS file being closed, Rickard has few resources left.