People with disabilities feeling lost in the pandemic

Dozens of advocacy groups are seeking immediate financial support from the federal government

WATERLOO REGION — Kitchener residents who live with disabilities feel forgotten in the pandemic and say they are being denied financial aid to get them safely through it.

Two have joined a national chorus now pleading with the federal government to dedicate financial assistance to people who are disabled.

“It’s been a road to hell and back,” said JoAnn Herald, sick with cancer and disabled by frail mental health.

Herald lost her Kitchener apartment just before the pandemic struck when a landlord lawfully evicted her to renovate.

Living on meagre government benefits, she has had to relocate to Woodstock to find an apartment renting for less than $900. Her mental health diagnosis prevents her from sharing an apartment.

“It is not where I want to be. My network is in Kitchener. That’s my home,” said Herald, 57, a former call centre worker who is on a waiting list for public housing in this region.

It distresses her that while the federal government provides $2,000 a month in emergency pandemic cash for people who lose jobs, benefits are stuck at $1,362 or lower for people whose disabilities prevent them from working.

“I’m appalled by it,” said Herald, who feels like the government is punishing her for a disability she can’t control.

“People like us are human beings. We deserve to be able to live a halfway decent life without having to wonder, can I eat today?” she said.

Arguing the same, more than 60 advocacy groups have penned an open letter asking Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to provide immediate financial support to people with disabilities.

Many people on disability benefits live in severe poverty, the letter says.

And while pandemic aid for others is welcome, “people with disabilities are still waiting for help, and being left behind during the coronavirus pandemic.”

Kitchener’s Roch Longueépée, disabled by his injured brain, is among those feeling left behind.

He hopes to keep his poor health from worsening, but says he is struggling to secure timely care from a medical system that has set aside normal operations to prioritize COVID-19.

“I’m fighting right now myself with the medical system,” he said, citing delays to see experts and develop a treatment plan.

The medical struggle helped sap his strength while he battles the University of Waterloo for admission. A court has ruled the school discriminated against him in rejecting him.

Longueépée, 50, sees UW’s behaviour as “a clear sign of ableism in our society. The pandemic has drawn that out.” He defines ableism as applying able-bodied standards to people who have disabilities.

Ordered to reconsider his admission, UW appealed and is arguing before the Ontario Court of Appeal that it did not discriminate.

The virtual hearing began Monday. Ontario’s Human Rights Tribunal backed the university, saying it did not discriminate against Longueépée.

“This case, regardless of the outcome, poses very important questions about the duty to accommodate,” Longueépée said.

UW declined to comment on the case. The school rejected Longueépée in 2013, citing the D grade he achieved 14 years earlier at a different university where he dropped out before his injured brain was diagnosed.