I'll answer that question. Thank you for this opportunity.
Yes, we do see a lot of seniors. I've been six years at the organization and it's just terrible to see people coming in. We have bunk beds. It's really difficult for women with mobility issues to get into a bunk bed and be in a room where there are eight people. It's a low-barrier shelter, so it is really tough for senior women or people who have never been in that position and are not streetwise. They haven't known that type of life, to be in such circumstances.
As to what we've seen with seniors, over the last two or three years I have observed that there are people from their sixties up to their eighties, women from all walks of life, some very highly educated people. We had a psychiatric nurse. We had a teacher. We had a social worker. We had an RCMP officer there. It is usually due to trauma and violence, domestic violence, but lately it's financial difficulty. In our low-barrier shelter, it used to be drug abuse and high mental health challenges that were among the reasons people were accessing the shelter. They really couldn't function and have a stable life in their communities. However, financial distress and financial difficulty are now bringing people to our doors.