The lack of affordable housing in Calgary is causing a mental health crisis. CBC Calgary reported that in 2021 the Distress Centre's crisis line received almost 2,500 calls about shelter or housing. Mental health was a concern with 41% of those calls, and suicide was a concern with 25% of them.

Meaghon Reid, VCC's executive director, says mental health and affordable housing are deeply intertwined, noting that poor mental health makes it harder to cope with housing problems, and housing problems can make people's mental health worse.

"This problem is much deeper and much more pervasive than we have appreciated over the past few years. I think that is our next pandemic. It's a mental health crisis and I'm not sure that we're ready for that. This is now middle-income earners; it's a lot of people. We need some solutions geared towards everybody on this one," she said. About 44% of Canadians are one paycheck away from financial disaster, and 48% of Canadians are losing sleep because of financial stress — a large part of which involves worrying about paying rent.

Read the full article: 'Our next pandemic': Calgary's housing fragility takes a heavy toll on mental health