Susan is a 32-year-old who has been living in a boarding house in a small town with five other women. She is not close to any of the other residents and has kept very much to herself trying to stay “under the radar.” She has not felt safe in the residence due to the level of discord among the women and the rowdy traffic in and out of the apartment building next door which is a known drug house. There have been frequent visits from the local police who have continuously stopped her to ask her what she is doing and where she is going. In the last few weeks, a cruiser has been parked on the street outside the boarding house for numerous days in a row.Prior to living in the boarding house, Susan was incarcerated for eight months after being convicted of theft. She was released from the local corrections centre 4 months ago to the community. She left the facility with nothing. She is not from this community and does not have the means to get back to her hometown. Living in a shelter was not an option as there simply isn’t one available.

She is currently on probation and must meet with her probation officer weekly. She has been ill, and without access to a reliable phone to let her work know, she was fired from her job at a local coffee shop.  In addition, she was unable to let the court officials know about her illness and now is in breach of a request to be fingerprinted, has missed a court appearance, and has missed one probation meeting. There is now a bench warrant out for her arrest. She has had no idea what type of legal support there might be for her in this small town. Susan recently lost her room due to unpaid rent. She has been forced to sleep in garages and sheds. She has been contemplating sex trade work to survive. Last night she was arrested for breaking and entering having sought shelter from a driving rain.