Kent Driscoll
Northern News Services

Iqaluit (Aug 01/05) - Annie Curley is out of moves. The single mother is facing eviction from her Iqaluit home in the middle of August, and says she has exhausted all of her options.

Annie Curley and her five-year-old son AJ don't know where they are going to live. Curley switched programs at Arctic College and no longer qualifies for housing from the college. She must vacate her "White Row" apartment in Iqaluit by the middle of August.

Curley is a student at Arctic College and was staying in one of its family housing units, in the White Row apartments across from Arctic Ventures. As a nursing student, she qualified for family housing, but when she switched from nursing into the new mental health diploma program, it disqualified her for family housing.

The programs at Arctic College that qualify for family housing are nursing, teaching, jewelry and metal work, language and culture, environmental technology, college foundation, office administration and health career access.

"How could they say one of those programs is more important than the others?" asked Curley, who said she can't afford normal housing.

The mental health diploma program is expected to start in January.

"Even if it did (start in the fall), it's not eligible for family housing," said Cindy Cowan, the acting director of Arctic College's Nunatta Campus.

Curley would be eligible for regular housing at the college, but would have to make arrangements for her five-year-old son AJ.

"If she really wanted to be in the program, she could stay in single family housing," said Cowan.

But Curley isn't willing to do that.

"I have to be with my baby. I'm not going to let him go free like that. It's not an option," said Curley.

Curley is stoic when describing her housing crisis, but is reduced to tears when the subject of AJ comes up.

"He is one awesome kid. I read him a story about moving, and he already understands. He just said, 'Mama, as long as we are together,'" said Curley through tears.

After taking a lab technician course in Winnipeg, Man., the Iqaluit native moved to Rankin Inlet in 2002, where she couldn't get housing.

A self-described "floater," she spent the next two years couch surfing with friends and family, with AJ in tow.

She received bad news when she was in the nursing program last year: a biopsy revealed cancer. Curley won't be specific about what type of cancer she had, but did reveal that it was a part of her decision to leave the nursing program.

If she doesn't receive housing, she is thinking about moving into a tent outside Iqaluit, where another medical condition will take hold.

She has cold-induced urticaria, which results in hives when her skin touches ice, and asthma when the thermometer drops. Living in a tent ensures that both of those things will happen.

Getting a spot at a women's shelter is impossible, as the only shelter for homeless people in Iqaluit does not accept women. The only other shelter is for battered women.

The Housing Authority is no help either. Curley will have been in Iqaluit for one year in September, and it takes one year of residency to qualify for the waiting list. The waiting list is three years long.

fact:

Units owned and rented by Arctic College in Iqaluit for family housing

* 26 three bedroom units behind Arctic College with a daycare

* 28 units rented in the "White Row" buildings

* 5 apartments in the Brown building

* 24 new units and another daycare are scheduled for completion in September, 2007

Source: Arctic College