claudewittmann.ca
i tried and failed to get 4 Artscape units:
Artscape does not recognize housing as a right
my process was draining. it took from May 1st to July 27, 2020.
why was Artscape my first choice?
Artscape's overall businessy enterpreneurial controlling of artists' communities is not of my taste,
but, they offer affordable units at $920-$950/month and Rent-Geared-to-Income (RGI) units which would
both have been affordable to me. $950/month amounts to 60% and 80% of my income depending on whether i
can work or not, and that's a lot, but still better than anything the private market could offer.
for the ODSP recipient i am, RGI would be the true long-term viable option.
Artscape also offers communities of artists and this was very important to me. i need to be among
people who understand my identity and respect it, or maybe even perceive it as a teaching.
artistic merit did not work
- application on May 1st for one of 2 units at the Weston Common
- rejection on July 14, 2020
waiting list did not work
- application on May 13 for a unit at Triangle Lofts
- denied on June 8, 2020
City's Access to Housing's waiting list for social housing did not work either
- on June 9 Artscape offered that i move into the Rent-Geared-to-Income (RGI) unit they had available at Wychwood Barns. that made me super happy. Artscape right away acknowledged that i was probably not first on the waiting list, even if updated, but
Artscape's rationale was that if they did not address housing need, the City had the power to do so, especially in the middle of a pandemic and given the fact that it was the city
that had ordered that i vacate my $800/month unit at 17 Paton Road. Housing Connection (HC) was redeployed for addressing covid-19 related situations and
so, Artscape and i tried to connect with them through different channels and with the help of at least 10 different individuals. messages came back but they stayed
conflicting. we started a petition, letters of advocacy were sent, phone calls made.
- final denial arrived on July 27, 2020. that same day, Artscape offered emergency shelter at Artscape's Gibraltar Point for 2 or 3 months if needed. why not another unit?
