A Montrealer in a wheelchair will move into a tiny house built by her sister after having knocked in vain on all the doors to find accessible and affordable housing.
“There is an access ramp, eventually we will make a small patio where I will be able to put my barbecue. Everything will be accessible so that I can move around alone, ”rejoices Nathalie Bédard, who has lived for five years with her little dog in an apartment in Tétreaultville, in the east of Montreal.
Originally from Rigaud, the 56-year-old was born with spina bifida, a congenital defect of the spine which forced her to move around on crutches from the age of 12.
In the midst of a pandemic two years ago, she broke her hip and ended up in a wheelchair. She could no longer walk up and down the stairs to her apartment.
“I found it so sad that she was a prisoner in her apartment on the second floor. I told him: “If you feel like it, we can build something”, explains his sister, Chantal Bédard.
From the city to the countryside
She is lucky to have a large piece of land in Eastern Ontario, where she can accommodate her sister, to whom she has always been close.
In Montreal, Nathalie had exhausted her other options.
“I knocked on all doors: HLM, subsidized housing, coops, associations for people with reduced mobility. Prices have exploded. […] I even looked outside Montreal. But even in the regions, it was expensive, at least $1,000 a month,” underlines the one who works as a saleswoman in a home tool shop and who does not have a big income.
She is aware that moving in with her sister will be quite a change.
“My sister, she lives in a row, in the real real countryside. Of course, at the time, I said to myself: “Ayoye, I’m going to fall out in the woods”. But basically, as long as you stay in my cabin … ”, says the mother of three grown children aged 21 to 30.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY NATHALIE BÉDARD
Under construction, the mini-house will be equipped with a ramp to be accessible to people with reduced mobility.
Mutual aid and recycling
In September, the tiny house was delivered to the site, and Chantal is finishing it with second-hand materials, helped by her husband and sons.
She will cover the costs of approximately $40,000 and Nathalie will pay rent of $600 per month.
“I have five children. Everyone is enthusiastic to welcome Aunt Nathalie here. For us, it’s natural to help each other,” says Chantal.
“Nathalie is a bit of a clown, she’s a girl who loves life, who laughs a lot. It will do good to everyone, to her too, ”she adds.