Living with a mental health disability in poverty

I am very lucky to have found my home here in Grand Forks. I am in a good neighbourhood with nice neighbours and my suite is a reasonable size - meaning enough space for me and in reasonable condition. However, I am a person with a mental health disability; I have PTSD as a result of my years of service as a first responder. I have many triggers (audible) and therefore could not live comfortably within a standard BC Housing complex (too many people within a small area = conflicts, noise, and instability) or even within an apartment/condo building. I currently receive only PWD benefits and what little I can earn working part-time in my home and for my landlord.

Single people living alone do not qualify for the BC Housing Rental Subsidy, not even those of us who are disabled (which is wrong and should be corrected for disabled persons). This means that my only option to reduce my housing costs is to live in a BC Housing complex where my symptoms will be triggered on a regular basis = I will never be truly stable enough to work outside of my home. Living on just $1500/month is really difficult given the costs for utilities and maintaining my 22 year old car so that I can get groceries and once in awhile go visit friends/family. I regularly have to ask my family for financial help just to make my ends meet... without their help, I would be homeless.

Our current provincial government conducted a huge study to find out what needs to be done to better the lives of persons with disabilities, I know this because I participated in it, and yet other than increasing PWD by a paltry $100/month nothing has been done that is a direct benefit to us all. Yes, they have spent many millions producing more housing and worked really hard to reduce homelessness and I agree these things needed to be done.. but what about the rest of us? It would be so easy to include disabled persons in the BC Housing Rental Subsidy program and doing so would immediately change our lives for the better... directly to those of us that are so affected in our current homes. It would also go a long ways towards reducing poverty in disabled persons all across our province. After all, just because we are disabled does not automatically mean that we are too stupid to manage our own financial household budgets does it? Do the disabled all have to move and pack ourselves into the tiny BC housing apartments that are being built.. live all together isolated from the general population like cattle in beef production organizations. We ought to be able to choose where we live without there being a difference in our budget... especially if it is for our own mental health.

I apologize for ranting... I know it is not the RDKB's fault specifically, but yes... I am getting angry about the current status quo. Please help change it.