One family’s struggle to find decent housing in Toronto

In a city with limited rent controls and where the waitlist for affordable housing has topped 180,000, it’s difficult for many families to find a place to live.

The two-bedroom basement apartment was never going to be the right fit for Steve Blake and his three sons.

Low ceilings meant his eldest son, Jacob, 20, would regularly hit his head and by the time you crammed in a well-used couch, kitchen table, a fish tank, two toads, art supplies, video game consoles, a television and a pile of sneakers and shoes, Kaslo, 15, and Gaebrial, 12, also didn’t have a lot of room to move.

“We have been a little under-housed for a long time. It is really hard to afford anything more in this city,” says Steve, 50, a contractor. “We never did have room to set up our racetrack” and toy cars, he says.

The family also includes a hugely pregnant cat named Moon, though until a few weeks ago she didn’t take up much space.

It wasn’t ideal, but it was home — at least until last week when they entered the shelter system.

The Blake family is among the 235,000 people the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness estimates will experience homelessness at some point every year. Lower-income families, or single-parent families, often bounce from space to space. Once inside the shelter system, those families often stay three times longer than single people, according to Raising the Roof, a homelessness advocacy group.

Steve rented the basement apartment two years ago, but says he only gave notice he was leaving because a friend said the family could move into a condo she owned if he would do renovations for a cut on the rent.

First, he says, he spent months working on the empty place and was paid for some work, but there were delays and it wasn’t finished. She changed her mind just weeks before they had to move out of the basement, he says.

The landlord, meanwhile, couldn’t let them stay because he needed the basement apartment for family.

With nowhere to go they ended up in Toronto’s strained family shelter system and are now in a motel, the city’s solution to the need for extra beds.

Steve has some savings and more money coming in, including benefits he is owed as a single dad, but in a city with limited rent controls and where the waitlist for affordable housing has topped 180,000, they fear their chances of finding a place that fits the entire family are slim. He also says he has bad credit, because juggling three kids —including one with special needs — and part-time work as a contractor, sometimes meant he fell behind on rent at a previous place.

Toronto shelters will accept families headed by men, including Birkdale Residence, Red Door Family Shelter, Toronto Community Hostel and Family Residence, according to city staff. By Thursday, family shelters were at capacity and 503 of the 520 spots in motels that are available for families, like the one occupied by Steve and his sons, were taken.

The entire shelter system, capable of holding about 4,700 people, including the spots in motels, was at 96 per cent capacity.

The Blakes have been assigned a housing worker to help them search for a place and access any additional supports the city can provide.

Kaslo holds up one of his art projects as Gaebrial looks on.  (RICHARD LAUTENS)  

“It doesn’t sound too promising, but we will keep our fingers crossed,” says Steve.

Before the move, Steve spent two fruitless weeks on Kijiji looking for an apartment.

“We’re desperate right now. We’d take anything. We can’t find anybody to rent to us without doing a credit check . . . I mean, I’m a contractor, I’m a painter. I don’t have a steady job or employer. What they want is a steady employer, for a year.”

They had to leave the couch on the curb and they gave away the toads. Moon is being cared for and they hope to bring her to their new home.

Steve has sole custody and says he’s been caring for his three sons on his own for five years.

Jacob, the eldest, demonstrates a keen interest in Canadian politics, and is in Toronto Film School, for video game design, where his work includes a game featuring U.S. President Donald Trump.

Kaslo, the middle child, is in Grade 9, loves classic rock, playing pinball and art. A car accident when he was a baby means he needs speech and physical therapy. He speaks slowly, often in single syllables, but has no trouble getting his point across, particularly when it comes to his musical tastes. A teacher once tried to convince him he could learn to love Justin Bieber. He disagrees, strongly.

The youngest, Gaebrial, jokes constantly, and insists any photos taken of him show his good side.

Jacob says being together makes the situation manageable.

“It keeps me sane, sometimes,” he says. “No, honestly, being with my family pulls me through a lot.”

Gaebrial, jumps in. “Teasing him really helps us, too.”

Jacob says there should be better supports and safety nets, for all families.

“It’s been a lot, I don’t know how to put it into words . . . ,” he starts.

“I can,” Gaebrial responds. “One word. Hard.”

Steve wants more work, but doesn’t want to leave his family alone at the motel. The shower, he says, also isn’t set up so Kaslo can use it safely.

Finding a place to live, he says, shouldn’t mean settling for something small or unsafe, or going broke.

“The poor can’t afford to live in this city anymore.”