Thank you very much, Madam Chair.
Ms. Singh, Ms. Fiddes and Ms. Decker, thank you so much for joining us today for this study.
What are we doing for these shelters and these women who are victims of violence? That seems to be the key question right now. You work in the shadows, but you work miracles—and you do so with inadequate resources. You're changing people's lives.
In fact, I've seen the impact of your work first-hand. Just last weekend, at the Granby Book Fair, I presented the intercollegiate youth literature award to Erika Soucy for her book, La maison cachette. It's the story of an eight-year-old girl who lives with her mother in a shelter for women who are victims of domestic violence, but it's told from the girl's perspective. We tend to forget, but there are collateral victims of violence against women. It's an absolutely magnificent story, and the intercollegiate youth literature award was well deserved. This book sheds light on that reality, and I like the title: La maison cachette, or the hideaway house. That's what it becomes: a safe haven where women can finally rest.
I'd also like to thank the witnesses for reminding us that it takes a whole continuum of services, and I'll come back to that.
Ms. Decker, you spoke about senior women who also find themselves in these situations. We're hearing more and more about senior women who find themselves experiencing housing insecurity following a separation, the death of a spouse or a violent situation. We're also trying to think outside the box and see how we can ensure a continuum of services earlier on.
In your view, is the income currently available to people aged 65 to 74 sufficient for them to secure adequate housing?
Do you see any links between inadequate income and the increase in requests for assistance from your organizations?