Shaw says the SIS stipend only covers rent and groceries; it does not provide enough for a security deposit or moving expenses. She says she has already gone into about $5,000 debt in two weeks and spent more than $3,000 on motel stays after becoming homeless.

Shaw also deals with health challenges: she has idiopathic left‑side weakness, and her spouse suffered a workplace injury while working as a red‑seal gas‑fitter plumber, limiting their ability to work and travel.

Because she has repeatedly been denied additional benefits, Shaw travelled to Regina with her mother‑in‑law to file a complaint with the provincial ombudsman, though paperwork problems have delayed the submission.

University of Saskatchewan professor Sarah Buhler notes that many Saskatchewan residents face the same problem, pointing to soaring housing costs and incomes that have not kept pace as major drivers of evictions.

The Ministry of Social Services responds that SIS benefits have been raised consistently over the past five years and that recent changes let clients keep more of their gifts, e‑transfers, employment earnings and certain federal benefits such as the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit and the Canada Disability Benefit.