Strathmore resident Nell McDonald is frustrated with a lack of affordable housing in the town.
During a meeting on Wednesday, (Feb. 5) council heard from McDonald about the issue.
"People are desperate, I'm desperate."
She told StrathmoreNow that her landlords are looking to sell her current rental.
"When we started our search, we realized we might have to look beyond Strathmore to find housing."
McDonald added that she and her husband work full-time and mentioned they pay $1,800 a month including utilities for their current place.
The family is currently spending two-thirds of their income on rent alone.
"When I go online, and I find a two-bedroom place for $1,800 a month not including utilities, that says something. Instead of paying the $1,800 a month, you're paying probably $2,500 a month in order to heat your house and have electricity and internet and all of that," said McDonald.
"That's not including utilities. Other two-bedroom places are going for anywhere from $1,800 to $2,500 a month, and that's not including utilities."
Strathmore Mayor Pat Fule responded that council has worked hard over the past few years to find more housing for residents.
"We have three different multi-unit projects in different stages of development. It's on the way and some of those will have 10 per cent affordable housing as well."
McDonald said it isn't enough and cited a cost-of-living crisis across Canada including in Strathmore.
"Say you have three buildings and each of them only has 10 per cent availability for affordable housing, that's not going to be enough to house all of the families that need it in Strathmore."
McDonald told StrathmoreNow that when her family moved into their current home eight years ago, they were paying around $1,300 with utilities.
"The fact that we were struggling eight years ago tells us that this has been an issue in Strathmore for just about a decade, if not longer."
For now, McDonald said she hopes to find a new home without the added cost.
StrathmoreNow has contacted the town for comment on the story. We will provide more details once we hear back.