Kerry Nolan knows all too well how quickly life and circumstances can change and what that means for basic things like having a place to live.

Nolan spoke about her experience during a noon-hour discussion Wednesday at the Yukon Employees Union building.

Her experience took her from a fairly middle class life into the jail system, then to the difficult task of getting her life back on track while she was also faced with the tougher challenge of finding housing.

Nolan was one of three speakers during the talk, part of the Human Rights Speaker series the union has offered throughout the week marking Wednesday’s International Human Rights Day.

Kate Mechan of the Yukon Anti-Poverty Coalition and local women’s advocate Charlotte Hrenchuck also addressed the small crowd gathered for the luncheon and talk, which focused on housing as a human right.

As Nolan explained in an interview following the presentation, she ended up in the jail system for a serious assault on her partner at a time when she found out he had been hitting her sons.

“I did what any mother would do,” she said.

It had been an abusive relationship, but at the time, she didn’t know of a lot of services out there.

Although she had knowledge of the Kaushee’s Place women’s shelter, she knew dogs weren’t allowed there and didn’t want to leave the animal behind with her partner.

It took going to jail to find that there are a number of services out there. Had she known about many of those services, she said, she may have gotten help sooner.

As she pointed out, those services need to be more widely known so that those who may need them can get them a lot sooner than she did.

Nolan said when she came out of the correctional facility, she felt “less a part of society.”

With no transitional housing in place, it becomes even more difficult to integrate back into society and get housing.

It seems both officials with potential housing programs and society in general look down on you.

Nolan wasn’t able to access housing programs.

Though she has found a small place to live, it would be too restricted to house her kids, creating difficulties for her in gaining custody of them once again.

It’s Nolan’s hope that by sharing her story and pointing to the need for transitional housing and general awareness of the services out there, governments will hear the personal impact of the housing situation and take action on it.

As she noted, she’s had to go through a lot to get where she is.

If her story can help others who may be living in and wanting to get out of abusive relationships, she wants to share it.

As Hrenchuck noted, there are countless stories illustrating just how easily anyone can find themselves without a home. Women’s homelessness, she noted, is largely hidden.

“It can happen to anyone,” Hrenchuck said as she went on to highlight a study done on women’s homelessness across the North.

The legacy of colonization and residential schools, along with inter-generational trauma, violence against women, victimization by the system, a lack of affordable housing and a number of other factors have led to situations that make it difficult for many, particularly aboriginal women, to gain and maintain housing.

“It’s a community issue,” Hrenchuck said, as she noted the need to expand social supports, after-hours crisis support and a wide spectrum of housing options.

As Hrenchuck pointed out, everyone’s housing needs change over the course of their lifetimes.

As Mechan commented, while transitional housing is clearly needed, it doesn’t really help if there’s nothing for residents to transition to after.

Mobile supports for people could also help residents maintain the home they are in while ensuring the help required is there for residents, Mechan added.

In her presentation, Mechan pointed to Section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms in arguing the government’s obligations in housing.

It states: “Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of the person and the right not to be deprived thereof except in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice.”

She then noted there are stories of people being discriminated against on a daily basis when it comes to housing.

The government, she said, has a duty to protect the right to housing and to take action on it.

That’s despite Canada being the only G8 country without a housing strategy, a point that was highlighted during the noon hour discussion as the three speakers and members of the audience stressed the need for all types of housing options in the territory.