We look at the housing crisis in Muskoka from the perspective of those most affected by sharing first-hand accounts from Circles community members—their struggles, triumphs and lessons learned in their search for a place to call home. Our hope is that by sharing these stories and raising awareness of what the housing crisis looks like from the inside, we can ultimately inspire action.

In this episode, we hear Aly’s story of hope and determination to build a better life for her family than the one she had growing up. Together with her husband Joel, they’ve fought hard for their lifelong dream of one day owning a home and thanks to their grit, hard work and help from Habitat from Humanity, they’ve made it. This is their story.

We’re taking a deep dive into the local housing crisis from the perspective of those most affected. Our goal is to raise awareness of the scale and impact of the issue by sharing first-hand accounts from Circles community members and their search for a place to call home.

In this episode, Kelly takes us all the way back to the beginning of her lifelong struggle to find a safe, affordable and stable home for her and her two girls. She shares her unique perspective on the journey that many women face to build an independent life for themselves, free from abuse and fear. Today, she’s got her dream job, her eldest daughter off at college, yet she’s still searching for her forever home.

Welcome back to Walls Within, where we share first-hand accounts from Circles community members about their search for a place to call home.

In this episode, Tracy shares her struggle to keep her family’s home through abuse, divorce, a sudden health crisis, recovery and now life with a disability and chronic pain. She’s still fighting to keep her home today, unsure how much longer she can manage.

For more information about Walls Within and Circles Muskoka, please visit www.circlesmuskoka.com/podcast.

Please note: The opinions expressed within this episode belong to the speakers alone and do not reflect the opinions and beliefs of The Community YWCA of Muskoka.