Help Us Move to a Wheelchair Accessible Apartment

Hi everyone! As some of you may know, my spouse, Ernie, and I have had a rough couple of years when it comes to my health and disabilities and how this has affected our life and finances. We’ve asked for a lot of help, despite it being really hard, and the community around us has really shown us so much love and care, which we are so eternally grateful for.

For this last year and a half, we have lived in Toronto in a tiny basement studio apartment. The apartment is entirely inaccessible for my wheelchair, there is very little space, we do not have any separate rooms to go into when coworking, we have no access to a private or semi-private outdoor space, and there is no natural sunlight - which has been very hard on both our mental health. Also, for many of our months living here, our landlords (who live upstairs) have been doing incredibly loud renovations, turning off our water and hydro for renovations, and coming in and out of our unit frequently. This has not only affected our ability to socially distance during COVID (I am immunocompromised and Ernie has asthma), but has also impacted our ability to have a sensory-friendly home, as we are both neurodivergent and I suffer from chronic pain, migraines, and insomnia. Not only this, but as of October 2022, our landlords legally raised our rent by 31%. When this happened, we found out that our unit is not rent-controlled due to us being the first tenants - we have been constantly worried about what we will do when the rent is inevitably raised again, especially as we are currently in one of the cheapest kinds of apartments on the market, and have no idea where we will go (and know that we can not afford any wheelchair accessible units on the market).

Being a wheelchair user, I am also in the process of figuring out what kind of chair would work best for me and my body. I realized recently that I require a power add-on to my chair in order for it to grant me the independence I need. The government is able to fund 75% of this chair, but I was recently denied this funding due to my apartment being wheelchair inaccessible. I will not be reconsidered for funding until my housing is accessible. I also desperately require an apartment that I can use my wheelchair inside of, and I don’t rely on my partner to carry my chair up and down stairs and help me upstairs in order for me to leave. This is currently what we have had to do for the last year.

Thankfully, we have been given the opportunity to move into a 2 bedroom completely wheelchair-accessible unit in a housing co-op downtown. The place is lovely and accessible, there is outdoor space, big windows, and a community we can be a part of right within our own home (something so important for the isolation that can come with disability.) The rent is also very affordable (much less than what we currently pay) as housing co-ops are non-profit. This is a life-changing opportunity, and we are so excited and grateful for it.

We found out about this unit quite recently, and we had to be able to move into the unit in mid-March. Although wonderful to be moving somewhere so much better so quickly, this is a very fast turnaround and makes finances very tight. We will still be legally required to pay rent for March on our current unit, plus a deposit for the new unit and half a month's rent on the new unit. We will also still have to pay for the internet for the month of March at our current place. This is quite a bit of overlap and requires us to pay very large sums of money all at once on top of general moving costs like boxes, renting a U-Haul, etc. This leaves us with very little money for groceries, phone bills, healthcare, transportation, and other living expenses for the next month or so.

We are asking for donations so we can move into a life-changing and accessible home, while not putting our well-being at risk. Moving costs are so daunting, but we know this is the opportunity of a lifetime - and all donations will go towards making sure we can still afford to eat, receive care, and attend to other living expenses while the majority of our current income goes towards the move.

Please share and donate if you can! Anything helps! Community is so important to us, and we are so excited to be transitioning into a part of our lives filled with comfort, community, accessibility, and positive changes!!

In community,

Breanna and Ernie