Just one small step away from the street

No movers dumped her dresser on the sidewalk. No sheriff slapped a padlock on her door. Diane Harris, senior citizen — legally blind, scooter- bound and with a history of heart trouble — won the battle with her landlord. Her eviction order has been torn up and tossed away.

If you think this is just another good news story, let me observe that there ought never to have been any bad news in the first place.

Diane pays rent to the Toronto Community Housing Corp.; in other words, we are her landlord. She has been our tenant for the past 25 years. Things went sour a couple of years ago. Let me explain: She has always paid her rent on time. There were never any problems with her tenancy. In the beginning, she lived in a twobedroom apartment. When the older kids moved out, she moved to a smaller unit. Her youngest son slept on the couch; not an ideal arrangement, but she, and he, made the best of it. Now she lives on her own.

I went to see her recently, while eviction loomed. She lives in a nice, clean building in the west end. I rode up in the elevator and tapped on her door. No answer.

I wondered for a moment if I’d come to the wrong place. Then I noticed black scuff marks on the door frame. Diane can’t walk very well. The marks, made by the bumper of a scooter.

I knocked a little louder. Diane let me in and returned slowly to her couch. I don’t know her well, but I knew in an instant that eviction would have killed her. Her sofa was pulled up very close to the TV. She said, “ My vision is 3 feet. To read I have to use a magnifying glass.” She also said, “ I had two heart attacks three years ago, back to back. I have rheumatoid arthritis. It set in when I was in my 40s. I get around in this scooter now. I used to love walking, but I can’t any more. The last 10 years, it’s getting worse.” Her health is bad, but it’s red tape that nearly killed her.

Diane had been living on a disability pension. When she turned 65, she was switched to the old- age pension. But it took a year for the pension to kick in. To this day she does not know why. But when her first pension cheque arrived, it was issued as a lump- sum payment. And there’s the problem.

If you live in public housing, you have to declare a change in income — any income, all sources, no matter how large or small — because that affects your rent. Diane does not fill out her forms by herself. She can’t see well enough to read any print, let alone fine print. Her son helps with the forms. He’s a bright guy, but he might have made an error around the time she switched from disability to old age. Forgive him if he was distracted. Diane had just had her first heart attack.

Adispute arose over how much money Diane owed as back rent. We’re not talking millions. No big deal. She is a woman who takes care of her obligations. She said, “ I don’t drink, I don’t smoke. I pay money each month for my medicine. If my scooter breaks, I have to take money out of my food.” A schedule of payments was worked out to cover the arrears. She has been making payments faithfully. The obligation is nearly discharged. But the old- age pension came with a supplement, and the supplement did not kick in until she got her first pension cheque, and so there was a further dispute about money owed.

Here, I am forced to take a deep breath. I have had the situation explained to me four times — by Diane, by legal aid lawyers, by tenant advocates and by TCHC staff.

I still don’t understand. But the disputed amount was a couple of hundred bucks. She wouldn’t give in. Neither would TCHC. The matter went to court. Eviction loomed. How could a senior citizen, a good tenant and a woman with a couple of serious illnesses end up a whisker away from the streets? Beats me.

Diane is a reasonable woman. Staff at TCHC can also be reasonable. A last- ditch phone call was made and a meeting was arranged. Two senior TCHC officials sat across a table from Diane at a location of her choosing — Parkdale Community Legal Services — to see if something could be worked out. I went to the meeting. There was awkwardness and nervousness, but there was also some goodwill. And within 10 minutes, there was an agreement. That’s all it took. A phone call, a meeting, a face-to-face chat.

I know TCHC is stretched to the limit. I tend to believe it is trying to do the right thing. But I wonder why it doesn’t simply employ the services of a flying squad to sort this stuff out before it festers.

I know it would save money on legal bills. It could have saved Diane a lot of stress. Of course, I also know this would have been a different column if she’d been tossed onto the street. Joe Fiorito usually appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Email: jfiorito@