Lisa Wiebe, a rural Manitoban who documents her life through photography, shares her personal journey after escaping homelessness in July 2019. Despite securing housing, the fear of returning to the streets lingers daily.
Transitioning Back to Stability
After enduring a decade of abusive domestic partnership, Wiebe faced profound trauma from street life. Securing a home near her hometown proved challenging. The remote location lacked transportation, and rent consumed nearly 90 percent of her employment income assistance, leaving just over $100 for groceries, essentials, and bills.
Isolated without nearby resources—no grocery stores, doctors, or public transit—Wiebe depended on volunteers from Steinbach Community Outreach for rides to the food bank and other services in Steinbach, an 11-kilometer walk each way when rides were unavailable.
Daily Barriers and Isolation
Without cellphone service or affordable internet, Wiebe walked to a local convenience store and gas station to use public Wi-Fi for contacting help, scheduling rides, or reaching her doctor. Once discovered, the owners secured the network with a password, cutting off this vital access.
Physical injuries compounded her struggles: nerve damage in her shoulder and right arm, plus osteophytes on her cervical disc, stemmed from carrying her belongings in a backpack during months on the streets. That winter, limited food access led to starvation and a malnutrition diagnosis, impairing her ability to digest solids. Volunteers provided essential supplements for partial recovery.
Winter nights brought severe pain and isolation. Wiebe often curled in the fetal position by a baseboard heater, enduring agony and despair in her dark, cold basement suite—nicknamed ‘the rabbit hole’ for its lack of heat and light.
Navigating the Pandemic and Relocations
As spring arrived, the COVID-19 pandemic intensified her challenges. To stay near vital resources, Wiebe couch-hopped in Steinbach. Eventually, she rented an upstairs suite downtown, hoping proximity to support would aid healing.
Yet, in early 2021, her landlord reneged on the lease to accommodate another tenant’s girlfriend, forcing Wiebe to search for affordable housing and risk renewed homelessness. After four months, she relocated to Crystal City, three hours west of her hometown.
Mental health support remained elusive. Initial suggestions included prayer or accusations of work avoidance. Two years post-homelessness, Wiebe finally qualified for disability assistance. Four years later, she remains in Crystal City with supportive landlords, achieving housing stability.
Lingering Trauma and Hope
Despite progress, daily fear of homelessness persists. Wiebe battles complex post-traumatic stress disorder, marked by worthlessness, self-loathing, intense flashbacks, and hypervigilance—like standing on a cliff’s edge awaiting a fall.
A recent mental health evaluation confirmed her diagnosis, highlighting the overlooked trauma of homelessness. Society often assumes housed individuals recover quickly and resume work, ignoring the need for trauma resolution to foster full societal reintegration.
Wiebe’s emotional support includes her cat Loki and mementos like her son’s stuffed rabbit and handmade blanket. Her story underscores the arduous recovery path from homelessness, urging greater empathy for those feeling invisible and hopeless. Success, she hopes, will inspire others to persevere.
