öÏÓãÊÓƵapp’s Andrew McMahon currently has a roof over his head, but he’s not sure how much longer he can stay, and he doesn’t know if he can afford to leave.
For more than eight months, McMahon has been living at Stepping Stone’s transitional shelter on Highway 6, just north of öÏÓãÊÓƵapp. He doesn’t want to be there, but finding another place to live that meets his needs within his budget is proving difficult for more reasons than one.
“I’m getting rejected over the phone before I can even see the place,†said McMahon, 50, highlighting just one of the struggles he has faced in his apartment-hunting efforts.
When prospective landlords or their agents learn that he is receiving Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) benefits, McMahon often finds that’s where the conversation ends. His emotional support animal, a shepherd-Lab cross named Molly, also seems to lead to apartment doors being closed on him before he even gets the chance for a viewing.
But the biggest barrier continues to be affordability.
“The reality is, the average one-bedroom apartment is about $1,900,†McMahon said.
An online search for apartments in öÏÓãÊÓƵapp finds multiple apartments in that price range, and many listed much higher.
But the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s most recent numbers list the average market rent (AMR) for a one-bedroom apartment in öÏÓãÊÓƵapp much lower.
“The current AMR for a one-bedroom in öÏÓãÊÓƵapp is $1,410; however, the majority of one-bedroom rentals available in öÏÓãÊÓƵapp are $1,800 to $2,000 a month,†County of Wellington housing stability manager Lori Richer said in an email to the Mercury Tribune.
The discrepancy is significant, since AMR figures from CMHC are used to calculate benefits for various housing programs, she said.
McMahon receives the Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit (COHB), which pays the difference between 30 per cent of a household’s income and the average market rent in the area, or for those on social assistance, like McMahon, COHB will cover the difference between the shelter allowance and the household rent and utility costs up to a maximum benefit amount.
Richer provided the following example:
“If a person in receipt of ODSP has found a one-bedroom apartment in öÏÓãÊÓƵapp and the market rent for the unit is $1,900/month. Based on this unit, the monthly COHB benefit will be $997 and ODSP shelter maximum allowance is $522 for a total of $1,519. This creates a shortfall of $381 for the rent.â€
While he has been searching for apartments, McMahon has also been advocating for changes in government policy, so that the benefit that is supposed to allow him to pay market rent might actually accomplish that aim.
“I’ve started this campaign of trying to make change,†he said.
He has spoken to several members of the county’s Housing Services team, has written to the Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, has met with local MPP Mike Schreiner, and has even drafted his own policy brief, proposing changes that would help to eliminate shortfalls like the one seen above.
After meeting with McMahon, Schreiner penned his own letter to Housing Minister Steve Clark, requesting some of the same changes McMahon’s policy brief suggests.
“I urge your ministry to establish an AMR value that will accurately reflect current market conditions and remove these obstacles for those seeking housing,†says the letter, forwarded to the Mercury Tribune by McMahon.
It also goes on to suggest the government create a form letter benefit recipients could present to potential landlords as a kind of proof of income showing their benefit entitlement.
McMahon’s hope is to leave öÏÓãÊÓƵapp.
While he grew up in öÏÓãÊÓƵapp, he lived and worked in Toronto for much of his adult life before an injury on the job prevented him from returning to work. He would like to return to Toronto, where he has friends, and says his doctor believes it would be better for his mental health to leave öÏÓãÊÓƵapp.
But while his COHB allowance would be higher in Toronto based on higher AMR values in Toronto, so too would the shortfall.
McMahon said he has been offered additional funding from the county through its Homelessness Prevention Program, but he cannot access this funding to pay for an apartment in Toronto.
Meanwhile, it seems he has outstayed his welcome at the transitional shelter. McMahon had been asked to leave the shelter on May 1, with the length of his stay being cited as the reason.
He pushed back, and remains at the shelter for now, but is hopeful it won’t be for long.
“I want out as much as they want me out,†McMahon said.
STORY BEHIND THE STORY: When a man calling himself “homeless” contacted the Mercury Tribune to share details of his struggles to find housing and get out of the shelter, we thought the story was one worth sharing with the wider community.
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