24 people, 1 home – CBC
Dec. 11, 2023
Every morning, Christina Wood’s 16 grandchildren take turns brushing their teeth, changing their clothes and using the one bathroom in their home.
They are among 24 family members who share her five-bedroom house in St. Theresa Point First Nation. The 54-year-old lives with her six adult children and their kids, ages three to 15, because of a lack of housing in the northeastern Manitoba community.
The overcrowded home is “hectic … especially in the mornings,” as the kids get ready for school, said Wood.
“It’s really hard to keep clean. They have to rotate to use the washroom, to take a shower,” she said. “But we do. We do.”
At night, her grandchildren drag three mattresses stacked against the front door onto the living room floor for six of them to sleep on.
Two beds tucked into the closet of Wood’s own bedroom are pulled out at night — she shares the room with her daughter and seven grandchildren.
Wood has lived in this house for 12 years, and in the fly-in community for nearly 50.
Read More: https://www.cbc.ca/newsinteractives/features/24-people-1-home
