"Calgary housing strategy Day 1: Overall support, stories of hardship without a home"
"Calgary Alliance for the Common Good gathers to protest for action to be taken on affordable housing, at City Hall on Thursday, September 14, 2023. ARYN TOOMBS / FOR LIVEWIRE CALGARY"
"Alberta NDP MLAs from across Calgary, along with the caucus’ housing critic Janis Irwin, attended the Alliance for the Common Good’s non-partisan protest for affordable housing over the noon hour.
"Irwin said that the party was there to support the demands for action on affordable housing, and to urge all orders of government to work together to tackle the crisis."
Other representatives of groups under the Calgary Alliance for the Common Good that attended the protest were those urging consideration about affordable housing as a method of combating climate change, addressing affordable housing for immigrant communities, and those who require affordable housing to have an economic future in the city despite having good paying work already.
“I’m here because I have a master’s degree, a good-paying job and I can’t afford to move out of my parent’s basement,” said Inam Teja.
“I’m here representing all the people like me who want to move out of their parents’ basement. All of the people whose rents have gone up $500, $1000 $2,000 over the last year and all those people struggling to find a place to live in Calgary with dignity.”
He said that during the day he works with members of the homeless community to try find housing, but then in turn has to go home and do the same for himself.
“I’m lucky you know, I have supportive parents and I get to sleep with a roof over my head every night. Not everybody has these privileges,” Teja said.