INUVIK - Annie Thrasher and six of her children have been trying to find a new place to live since they were evicted from public housing three months ago.

Thrasher, a single mother with nine children, had to leave Inuvik this winter to stay with relatives in Paulatuk after the family was evicted for arrears, although Thrasher said she is on a repayment plan and continues to make regular payments. Now, she and her six youngest children are split up among relatives in Paulatuk. The family is first on the public housing wait list for a four-bedroom home in Paulatuk, Thrasher said, but housing corporation officials told her a place likely wouldn't open up until June.

"I had no choice - it was either stay and put my kids in care or come here, so I came to Paulatuk and I'm homeless," she said. "I have no place to go."

"The housing situation should be easier to live with instead of making your life harder."

Thrasher is just one of about 300 NWT residents wait-listed for public housing, according to a Feb. 2009 Housing Corporation document, which was tabled in the legislative assembly Jan. 27 by Robert McLeod, minister responsible for the housing corporation. McLeod could not be reached for comment before press time.

The vacancy report shows that of the 2,325 public housing units in the territory at the time, 146 were vacant, 84 were under repair and 62 were available. Consistent with population, Yellowknife and Inuvik had the two highest wait lists, but housing availability is tight across the territory. The only community with a surplus - of two units - was Wrigley.

As for Thrasher, she said there's not much more she can do but keep paying her bills and hope for a place to open up soon.

The housing corporation "could be a little more lenient, said Thrasher, "because I know people around town who applied (for housing) and are still waiting after a year."

While the number of residents on the public housing wait-list accounts for only one per cent of the NWT population, some MLAs and community leaders have raised concerns about the services provided to those who rely on public support. For example, income support cheques have been delayed because of computer glitches and Jackson Lafferty, minister of justice as well as Education, Culture and Employment, told the assembly that the number of those needing social assistance has almost doubled recently.