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As landlords continue to raise rental prices across the country, many are being left behind. According to rentals.ca, average rent in Canada has been increased by 25% since 2021. For some, the result is homelessness, and Waterloo Region is no exception – a recent report shows at least a 129% rise in chronic homelessness here since 2020.

“I knew I was going to be homeless at some point if I did not do something” says Pat Dunn, a widowed retiree now living in Peterborough. Dunn is the founder and the executive director of the non-profit organization Senior Women Living Together. Through subscriber generated profiles on their website, the organization finds matches for senior women, who then meet up to discuss living as housemates.  

This show features an interview with Pat Dunn who discusses her own brush with homelessness and rising rent led her to helping others in the same situation. The organization is currently promoting their free service in Waterloo Region.

Senior Women Living Together is a website that aims to help older, single women find roommates so they don’t have to live alone. The website has expanded now to include Waterloo region. We speak to Pat Dunn, founder of the group.

A group that helps older women find each other so that they can live together and share expenses is expanding its services in Waterloo region.

CBC News | March 23, 2019
Article by Waubgeshig Rice 

When Pat Dunn’s husband died four years ago, she knew life without him would be tough. On top of grieving the loss, she also faced the social and financial challenges of being alone.

“I was trying to find a way to make my income go a little further and allow me an opportunity to do other things besides just pay rent,” she said.

She realized she had to do two things: find a way to survive better on her income and get connected in her community.

CBC News | May 29, 2019
By Haydn Watters, Roving Reporter, CBC News

After her husband died, Pat Dunn had to find herself a new home. The couple had been living on a boat for years but she could not afford it without him. So she moved into a trailer.

Dunn lives in a trailer park near Lindsay, Ont., five months of the year and finds somewhere else to stay during the rest. The 69-year-old knows she can’t keep doing that.

So she went looking for alternatives, but money and wait lists restricted her. She figured there were other women in her situation. So she started up a Facebook group in February to look for similar roommates. She called it Senior Ladies Living Together.

GRANDMOTHERS ON THE MOVE: Episode #40 | August 5, 2019
With Ilana Landsberg-Lewis

Hear Pat Dunn talk about the housing crisis for older women and grandmothers, and how precarious housing can be dire and tremendously stressful. Pat found herself in a housing predicament, and decided to do something about it!

Her search for community and house-mates has led to a FB phenomenon – and a creative and powerful response to the lack of affordable housing for older women. From FB page to a growing movement of women seeking creative alternatives, Pat has tapped into an urgent need, and a passion to do something about it.

I promise by the end of this conversation, you’ll want to add your voice to the chorus clamouring for sister chapters of Senior Ladies Living Together

PS - scroll down the podcast page to find our episode - #40! 

Brampton Guardian.com | August 23, 2019
Article by Marta Marychuk

We asked people to send us their story (using the hashtag #housingheroes) if they knew of a person or organization helping people find affordable housing and/or eliminating homelessness in Brampton and Mississauga.  Pat Dunn, of Peterborough, started the Facebook group, Senior Ladies Living Together in February, after her husband died.  Facing a precarious financial and housing situation, compounded by the loss of her husband, Dunn said she was always attracted to community living and thought that other women in a similar situation might be interested in finding compatible home-mates who would be interested in renting a home together.

TVO: The Agenda with Steve Paikin | Aired September 12, 2019

Living with roommates isn’t just for university students anymore: seniors such as Pat Dunn are starting to understand the benefits of pooling resources to live comfortably, too. Her Facebook group, Senior Ladies Living Together, connects potential roommates to save on rental costs and alleviate loneliness. Joining her to discuss this trend is Louise Bardswich, part of a group called the Golden Girls of Port Perry, who recently invested in a shared home.

580 CFRA with Dahlia Kurtz | October 14, 2019

When Pat Dunn lost her husband, she also lost her ability to afford housing. So she took to Facebook to see if she could find a roommate. What she found were countless senior women in her same position. And what she created was a movement that now has more than 1,500 senior women in Ontario - and it's growing. 

Pat Dunn, founder of Senior Ladies Living Together, and group member Pam MacDonald, joined Dahlia Kurtz with their story. 

Twitter article by Haydn Watters, CBC Radio roving reporter | December 2019

“A few months ago, I met a trio of single senior ladies who couldn’t afford to live alone. So they decided to live together. Skip forward 6 months and they just moved into their house in Peterborough.”

Unladylike Podcast: Episode 92 | July 14, 2020

Why does living single usually come with roommates? In part two of three about How to Live Single, Cristen and Caroline get a Golden Girls reality check on the housing crises caused by breakups and aging.

580 CFRA | August 9, 2020
With Dahlia Kurtz on The Goods

It took a widow to help senior women find housing – because they feel ‘invisible’ to our governments.

When Pat Dunn lost her husband, she also lost her ability to afford housing. She took to Facebook to see if she could find a roommate. What she found were countless senior women in the same position as her. And what she created was a movement that now has almost 1,800 senior women in Ontario – and it's growing. And what started as a movement by one woman, has now grown INTO A NATIONAL MOVEMENT. Pat Dunn, the founder of Senior Ladies Living Together, and Ottawa group member Kathryn Carruthers, join Dahlia Kurtz on The Goods with their story.

The Record: Waterloo Region | August 18, 2020
Article by Catherine Thompson

It was always Anna Weber’s plan to work until she was at least 65.  But life sometimes throws you curve balls, and increasing pain and fatigue from fibromyalgia forced her to go on disability at age 59, after decades of working a variety of jobs in manufacturing, as a waitress and in long-term care.

Toronto Star | March 16, 2023
Article by Moira Welsh

A growing number of older women, especially those with careers that paid enough to get by but did not offer workplace pensions, live in a precarious financial position that can be brutally isolating.

580 CFRA | March 21, 2023
With Patricia Boal on Ottawa At Work

Pat Dunn, founder of Senior Women Living Together, talks with Patricia Boal about her personal experiences and how finding community with Senior Women Living Together gives women better opportunities.

Sam Laprade Show: CityNews Radio 101.1 | May 8, 2023

Pat Dunn joins the host, Sam Laprade, to talk about how SWLT was founded and how it helps senior women. 

Globe and Mail | June 20, 2023 | by Rob Carrick

Pat Dunn shares her thoughts and the reasons why she started SWLT with Rob Carrick.

It’s a hell of a thing to be retired from a meaningful career and realize you can’t afford your rent any longer.

Pat Dunn, a 73-year-old retired public-health nurse, was in that position four years ago.

Zoomer Radio AM740 | June 25, 2023 | with Christine Ross

Average rent across Canada is up about 20 percent from pandemic low and still rising. So Pat Dunn of Peterborough founded “Senior Women Living Together”, to help others find roommates to share rising housing costs. Christine Ross caught up with the resourceful 73 year old, and former public health nurse, who calls this her mission.

Christian Radio Ottawa | July 14, 2023

On episode #335 of “Let’s Talk Money with Dave and Rebecca", the co-hosts welcome Pat Dunn of the Senior Women Living Together (SWLT) network, as she shares the story of how her struggle to find a place to live, turned into something beyond what she imagined.

Moose FM | MyBarrysBayNow | December 5, 2023

Senior Women Living Together (SWLT) is an organization that helps women find living partners. That way they can split expenses and have the safety, and companionship, they may not have if they live alone.  

Madawaska Valley Current | January 13, 2024

In Ontario, there are approximately 350,000 senior women living alone and 30 percent of them are living in poverty. With rental prices so high and vacancy rates so low, it is no surprise that single, senior women are struggling.

PembrokeToday.ca | January 17, 2024

“It’s a unique solution to an ongoing housing crisis that is particularly difficult for senior women. With high rental prices, low vacancy rates and increasing inflation, it’s no surprise that single, senior women are struggling”

Global News Morning Show Kingston | January 18, 2024

“Senior Women Living Together is a platform where you can learn about shared living, find compatible homemates and together find suitable rental accommodation.”

CBC Radio Ottawa | March 6, 2024

“A non-profit that helps women find home-mates and affordable rental accommodation expands to Renfrew County”

Article by Sharif Hassan, Canadian Press | May 4, 2023

“It keeps getting worse and worse every day, every week, every month,” she says of the growing cost of living. “Every time we turn around, there is no escape from the rising costs of everything.”