Part of my most recent run in with Behcet’s disease has included a vicious reaction to methotrexate that has had a significant impact on how I move my body and the ways in which I access the world. We don’t know how long this will stay this way, if my prior mobility will ever return, or what fun awaits me in the future with this disease. I became quickly evident that I needed move from my inaccessible apartment where I have been “getting by” with a hallway (Gally) style kitchen, a bathroom that is like death for a chair user, and a bedroom with so much stuff in it that I can’t move through it in my chair. The search for new accessible housing began.
While looking for accessible housing I learned a few things. 1. Market rent accessible housing doesn’t exist. 2. Waiting lists for subsidized housing are a million, like actually, years long. 3. I am screwed and going to be living in a hospital forever (did I mention that? I am currently living in a medical hospital because of this housing conundrum).
Now I really don’t want to be here forever. Or even any longer than I need to be. Or even here right now. It became really evident I was going to have to find something that worked okay and then do what I can to make the space work. I’m sure tons of other people have had to do this and then decided to write about it, right? I mean there has to be resources for modifying rental units in non-permanent ways? I thought wrong. There is nothing. If there is something, please do let me know! Lucky for others who will find themselves in this place, I am going to do something about this lack of resources and chronicle my own journey to accessible(ish) housing.
I have done one round of apartment hunting with varying results. I saw 4 apartments in total. One was nice but not super accessible and it had ceramic tile in the living room (eww, right?) and the hallway looked like someone probably had died in it and been left there to rot. Two had deceptively clean buildings with the most disgusting units I had ever seen, including one with a mould colony to rival no other on the bathroom ceiling and a kitchen that looked like a grease fire waiting to happen. The other had been decorated by a herd of 3 year olds and their crayons and the parquet flooring had been ripped up and used by them as building blocks during play time. I was told they would “clean and paint” both units but they needed more than cleaning and painting.
Then came the last one we saw. It was rental perfection for about $150 above my projected budget, but did I mention it was rental perfection? Everything was brand new, from the floor to the appliances, to the toilet, to the kitchen sink. It was complete with large kitchen with space to maneuver my chair and 2 bathrooms, including a stellar ensuite with a perfectly placed toilet for a direct chair to toilet transfer. Having left two desperate messages saying I want it and having cheques ready to give a deposit, I am now waiting for Tuesday when the holiday weekend concludes and I can find out if I actually get this beautiful 900sq ft of Toronto rental space.
If I do get it a whirlwind of hospital discharges, packing, moving plans and adaptive apartment brainstorming will ensue. If I don’t, a whirlwind of desperate apartment hunting will continue. Tomorrow morning my fate will be determined. Either way I will be moving in to a “non-accessible” apartment unit and doing what I can to make sure I can function in the space. Not just survive, but function. I will be writing about it here in a mini-series entitled “Adapt That!” so when you see a post that starts with that, you will know what it is all about!
I am looking forward to doing this and hopefully helping out a few people along the way!
Feisty, Deaf and Disabled 