High cost of living in the Toronto area leaves many disabled people hopeless, report finds

The cost of living in the GTA is rising, fuelled by a lack of affordable housing and the soaring price of groceries. And for disabled people, it can cost up to 39 per cent more to thrive than for those without disabilities

 

This is according to a recent report by the Wellesley Institute, a non-profit focussed on research to improve health equity in the GTA. The Thriving in the City with a Disability report uses the term “thrive” to describe the opportunity for people to do more than just survive.

 

Disabled people face higher costs to thrive because of out-of-pocket expenses for necessary equipment, housing, taxi use or the need for an accessible car, service animal costs, nutrition, grocery delivery for access needs, and a higher savings rate in the case of early retirement.

 

“People talked a lot about the gap between what they need and what they have,” said Dr. Christine Sheppard, lead researcher of the report. “We heard stories about ways people had to make tough choices or had to compromise on aspects of their health because they didn’t have all of the resources they needed.”

The report also showed that nearly one million disabled Canadians live below the official poverty line, representing almost 40 per cent of all people experiencing poverty.

 

To collect the data, 39 disabled people were consulted in online discussions alongside health and social service professionals, legal clinics, at home and community care agencies, social service programs and advocacy organizations.

 

Wendy Porch, who lives with a disability and is the executive director of the Centre for Independent Living Toronto, welcomed the report’s findings, adding that people with disabilities are often left out of these kinds of reports.

 

“I hope the report provides people who are not connected to people with disabilities… with a clear understanding of the reality of living as a disabled person in Toronto, that it’s really bad, across all kinds of metrics,” she said.

Lawyer Ilinca Stefan of ARCH Disability Law Centre said she is not surprised by the report or the types of living costs that disabled people incur. ”These are the same costly issues people with disabilities are reaching out to ARCH with, for legal support,” Stefan said. “We receive countless calls every day about these issues.”

 

In the discussion groups for the report, disabled participants agreed that accessibility within rental buildings is a significant issue. Even when they are able to modify their units, common areas like garbage rooms, laundry rooms and gyms lack necessary ramps, automatic doors and are too small for wheelchair users, Sheppard said.

 

As one of the agencies involved in the focus groups, the Centre for Independent Living Toronto said housing is the number one issue they are contacted about. “People not being able to find accessible and affordable housing is at a crisis level,” said Porch. “Disabled people are living in all kinds of inappropriate housing situations. They can’t find something accessible.” The centre said it is not uncommon to see people with disabilities going directly to shelters when discharged from hospital.

“Right now disabled people feel they have no hope of actually experiencing what it’s like to thrive,” said David Meyers member senior manager at the Centre for Independent Living Toronto, who is also disabled.

 

Saving for the future, being able to put money away for major expenses or saving for retirement, is a struggle for people with disabilities, said Sheppard. “We saw in our research that people with disabilities need to save more because of uncertainty that they have in employment, retirement, and the fact it cost more to thrive during their lifetime to begin with.”

 

“We need action to ensure that people with a disability have access to the resources they need to thrive, not just survive.”

 

 

 

 

This article was first reported by The Star