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Vernon  

Give birth, get evicted

As if having two young children and a third one due in this fall is not stressful enough, Brittany Lepitzki just found out she is being evicted from her home.

The 28-year-old Vernon woman is a “persons with disabilities, due to mental health conditions” and currently lives in a two-bedroom, low-income housing unit that she rents through the Vernon Native Housing Society.

“I have been informed that once my baby is born, due to maximum occupancy rules set by BC Housing, that I will have to move within two months of the baby's birth,” said Lepitzki who will have her third child by C-section in mid September. “Since the BC Housing rules state that there can be no more than two people per bedroom, and children and parents cannot share a room, their hands are tied with having to serve me an eviction notice.”

The situation is an enormous strain on Lepitzki who fear she and her children may end up living on the streets in the middle of winter.

“Due to the housing shortage in Vernon and surrounding areas finding a new place while being on disability, having extremely low income, and not being able to work, it will be nearly impossible to find another rental, and I will most likely end up homeless, even though the unit that I live in is more than spacious enough to accommodate another child,” she said.

She currently lives in a unit with three levels, full basement, living room, dining room, kitchen and a half bath on the second floor with a full bathroom with two large bedrooms on the top floor.

“I don't understand how anyone could be forced to move just because of this occupancy clause. This is completely wrong,” she said.

Castanet will reach out to BC Housing for comment on the situation.



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