Julian is larger than life, even as she faces one of the hardest challenges imaginable—living in a tent in rural Canada. “We make our little tents our own home,” she says with a smile, her resilience shining through. But the reality she faces every day is far from easy.
In Pembroke, where Julian lives, there isn’t a single homeless shelter. Affordable housing is nearly impossible to find. “There’s nothing,” Julian explains. “People can’t afford $2,100 a month for rent.” Without safe, affordable places to live, she and others are forced to create makeshift homes in wooded areas and fields, often far from basic necessities and social services.
Julian’s situation is made even more difficult by her disabilities. She lives with Asperger’s syndrome, autism, and bipolar disorder—conditions that make navigating daily life and accessing stable housing more complex. “A lot of places really screen people with disabilities,” she says, describing how stigma and discrimination often lock her out of opportunities before they even begin.
Her experience highlights a growing crisis that often goes unseen. Rural homelessness in Canada—and across the United States—is increasing rapidly. While cities have at least some shelters and outreach programs, rural communities often have none. People experiencing homelessness in these areas are left to rely on each other, on faith, or on pure survival instincts.
“They’re not solving the problem of homelessness,” Julian says. “They’re just shipping people to other places.”
Her words reflect a troubling truth: when rural areas lack infrastructure and resources, the response is often to move people elsewhere rather than address the root causes. This approach not only fails to solve the problem—it deepens it.
Julian’s story is a reminder that homelessness doesn’t look the same everywhere. In small towns and rural communities, the crisis is quieter but no less urgent. People live in tents, cars, barns, and abandoned buildings, unseen by the systems designed to help.
Despite it all, Julian remains hopeful. She dreams of a future where people with disabilities aren’t discriminated against and where housing is seen as a human right, not a privilege. She wishes for “all of us to have a safe, warm place, good food,” and to be happy and healthy.
Her courage, humor, and determination show that even in the most isolated corners of society, humanity endures—and the need for compassionate, community-based solutions has never been greater.
