VIDEO: When the sister you love is living on the streets

For seven years, Catherine Pynappels has been reaching out to her sister, trying to rescue her from a downward spiral of drugs, prostitution and mental illness. There have been attempts at rehabilitation, but these days the best she can hope for is to maintain a loving connection with her. "It's like staring down a very dark tunnel,' said Pynappels, "and there's a light and she's there, but it's so far down there."

Pynappels paid us a visit along with Angie Lohr of H.O.P.E. outreach to talk about the challenges facing families trying to break out of this cycle. "We need better detox. We need more treatment facilities," said Lohr. She says the five days of detox that is offered to addicts is often immediately compromised when they leave. "You will go back to the shelter," explained Lohr, "a shelter that's full of drugs and you aren't going to be able to stay clean."

Pynappels described how her sister was denied care at a walk-in clinic when she had a badly infected foot. She says the whole situation feels hopeless, but she is glad to see it's risen to the top of the list of election issues.

"The good thing that has come out of the election is that it's front and centre, homelessness and people are talking about it," said Pynappels. "The community has had enough."