On the Brink: Retiree living in converted laundry room feels ‘overlooked’ amid housing crisis

globalnews.ca:

This is the fourth instalment of a Global News series called ‘On The Brink,’ which profiles people who are struggling with the rising cost of living. In this story, a senior living in a converted laundry room talks about the challenges of trying to find a better place to live.Liz Myers knows what it’s like to be on the brink.Myers lives in a bachelor basement unit in the Halifax area.

Her small apartment – a converted laundry room – has one window, a kitchenette, a futon and a closet with a toilet.The senior, who shares the tiny unit with her 16-year-old cat, said the space feels “claustrophobic.”“It’s affecting my moods a lot, making me more anxious,” she said, adding that she also has concerns about air quality. “It’s affecting my health.”As a small woman with disabilities, she is also concerned for her safety due to drug use and violence in her neighourhood.Myers wants to move to a safer space, but she applies to units every “morning and night,” but has had no luck finding anything within her $1,300/month budget.She said she feels “overlooked” as a retiree on income assistance.“They’ll say in their ads (that) they want someone who’s employed professionally, employed as a student, and I feel like I’m not important to them because I’m a retired senior,” she said.