Overcrowding and a lack of affordable housing have led one of the Island?s oldest charities to expand its role in the community.

After being flooded with calls from women in their late 20s searching for an affordable place to live, Teen Haven, located on Happy Valley Road, has added two emergency spots to the facility. Many of the women have children and cannot afford what they describe as the ?sky high? rents currently on the market.

Director of Teen Services, Michelle Wade-Johnson, who directs the facility through Teen Services, said women between the ages of 16 and 28 are currently staying at the Haven. Originally set up to offer accommodation to women who are between the ages of 16-21 the housing crunch has meant the programme is opening its doors to women in their late twenties.

Out of the seven women accommodated at the shelter four are older than 21, with the oldest the age of 28.

The women pay a rent at the facility according to their income and several have young children.

?The housing crisis is affecting us tremendously. People call and we have to tell them there isn?t any room,? said Ms. Wade-Johnson. ?Many of these women are trying, they?re working with the programme we offer so they can go out there and survive. They may have an education and a steady job, they can handle on their own, but the challenge is they have nowhere to go.?

The 26 and 28 year old women at the Haven have had their stays extended until they can find a place to live.

Social Worker Nina Jones, who works at the facility, said the severity of the housing crisis becomes clear when women arrive with their children and their belongings packed in a taxi with nowhere to go. She deals with calls on a daily basis of women who are trying to find accommodation at the facility. There is also a waiting list of names.

?The saddest thing you have to do is turn them away, these are women who are trying to find the best place they can for their children,? she said.

The housing crisis is also putting stress on families. Many of the women come from overcrowded homes where their parents and siblings are all living together.

Such is the case of Deborah*, a 26 year old woman who used to live in her mother?s living room. Today she lives at the shelter with her three-month-old daughter is employed as a cashier.

She has six brothers and sisters, three of who live with her mother. Deborah was living with her boyfriend but left due to what she calls ?a severe circumstance?.

The Haven provided the secure place to live that she was looking for after the birth of her daughter, but finding a landlord who will rent to single women with children is challenging.

?Everyone comes down on women, they say you should have never had a baby, but these things happen. I didn?t go out to have a baby on purpose and put myself in this situation,? she said.

?Women like me are all looking for apartments. I get stopped and asked about the Haven all the time by people who are looking for apartments ? they?re women who can?t find anywhere reasonable to live.?

Deborah said she had little faith in Government?s new housing scheme at Southside as it will mean home owners must pay for the construction costs. She doubts single women on medium incomes like herself will be able to afford such homes any time soon.

?My dream is to settle down and have my own place, a decent place where I can raise my children. I want to have them living with me, I hope to get married, I want to be able to move on with life and put the housing problem behind me.?

Ms. Wade-Johnson said the effects of the housing crisis ultimately end up having emotional and psychological impacts on women and the family in general. While she recognises that many people end up homeless as a result of ?burning their bridges? or family problems, if people do not have the basic necessities of life it is a struggle for them to go on and to better their circumstances.

?What happens is we find they can?t move on, they?re stuck in one place and they become women who are frustrated as parents. They are ready to move on but they can?t, they keep fighting the battle,? she said.

A matron lives at the Haven full time and an adult, either a social worker or staff member is on the premises 24 hours a day.

Income to the Haven comes from rent paid by the women and through the Department of Financial Assistance, which provides unemployed women with their rent. The Haven, which costs approximately $230,000 a year to run, is given a $60,000 grant through the Department of Financial Assistance. Funding also comes through donations from the private sector.

The women who live at the Haven must all follow certain rules. Each woman has to sit through an interview before being considered for admittance.The door closes at 10 p.m. every night, they must follow the household rules and abide by a chore schedule. There are visitation hours for men several days a week. Men cannot be in any area except the living room and they must come during the assigned times for a two hour visit and must sign in.