Imagine a mother having to decide whether to use every available dollar to pay this month’s rent or to feed her family.

Or a senior who, after paying rent, is forced to subsist on one meal a day.

Or a Holocaust survivor not buying medication because it is not covered by the government.

This level of poverty exists in the very heart of Toronto’s Jewish community. Many families and individuals find themselves paying so much of their limited incomes on housing that it comes at the expense of other essentials, including food, clothing and medication.

No one should have to choose between shelter and meeting the most basic human needs.