Charred timber and sodden remnants of household items are all that remain of 10 units at 琉璃神社鈥檚 Walnut Grove motel.

Any day now, a demolition crew will tear down the worst of the damage, which will spark more than a construction boom.

The change will further deplete this city鈥檚 supply of affordable housing.

Affordable housing, and the utter dearth of it, is one of 琉璃神社鈥檚 longest running conversations. When I was a younger woman, I was the one shaking my fist at the sky complaining about living in a one-bedroom dump for $800 a month that I searched high and low to find.

Now that I鈥檓 no longer in the realm of young 琉璃神社, there are others to take the charge and they鈥檙e facing even worse.

In fact, if the reporter in the desk next to me is any indication, it鈥檚 now the norm to move into a house with five strangers to simply afford keeping a roof over one鈥檚 head.

There are more stories in this city, too. Stories of seniors who are unsure how to make do on a fixed income.

There are men and women who are on disability and can鈥檛 find a home that works for them.

Some of these stories have come to a happy resolution at Walnut Grove, an oasis of affordability in an increasingly posh neighbourhood.

Though I haven鈥檛 spoken with her myself, I鈥檝e been told there鈥檚 a blind senior who has lived in the motel for decades, with her rent frozen somewhere in the 鈥�90s.

Another woman I spoke with has a series of health issues that make life difficult to navigate and work impossible.

A young couple with two children below the age of four have found a home there.

And there are others who simply don鈥檛 want to spend their entire paycheques on a rental. Some who see quality of life as something more than a good address.

For many, it鈥檚 still not a cheap place to live, but the only way to keep a roof over their heads, which means they didn鈥檛 have a lot to spare from month to month. It explains why many residents didn鈥檛 have renter鈥檚 insurance.

Saturday鈥檚 Truswell road fire has put dozens of people in search of housing, but even the residents of the Waters Edge condominium 鈥� who also are out of home 鈥攔ealize that it鈥檚 the residents of Walnut Grove who may suffer the most in the days ahead.

鈥淲hen I saw one of the young men who lost his home, we didn鈥檛 even speak, but it made me want to cry,鈥� said one woman who is out of her neighbouring condo for anywhere from one to three years.

鈥淚 didn鈥檛 even speak to him, but I could tell 鈥� he has nothing left. We鈥檒l all be fine鈥� I don鈥檛 know about him.鈥�

In addition to financial means, the community has rallied around the residents of the Waters Edge and that鈥檚 wonderful.

Let鈥檚 hope there are a few people out there willing to rally around these men and women at Walnut Grove. This isn鈥檛 an easy city to find a rental, and it鈥檚 even harder if you鈥檙e not well off.

And everyone in this community deserves to have more to their name than charred remains and sodden remnants.

Knowing these people have found a safe place to live would mean this community is actually worth the high pricetag that comes with living here.