UBC student with a disability details affordable housing struggles

A UBC student who’s in her final semester is worried she’ll be homeless by Christmas because she can’t find a place to live off-campus.

Kim Miranda, 23, is an international student finishing up her degree in International Relations at the University of British Columbia and says her on-campus housing contract ends on Dec. 23.

Miranda, who uses a wheelchair due to cerebral palsy, has been looking for a place to live since April but has yet to find anything.

She says the options out there aren’t affordable, big enough for her and her mom — who provides her full-time care — or can easily accommodate her wheelchair.

“Sometimes I’ve excluded the fact that I’m disabled just to get a chance to view the house… but the challenge is if it’s a house, everywhere in Vancouver is a basement suite, so it’s not accessible.”

“And then, even if it is a ground floor, as soon as they see a student with a disability, I can’t say for sure there’s discrimination, but when there’s such a rampant housing crisis, we’re not the most attractive applicants — a student with a low income [and] a disability.”

Miranda, who works part-time, says newer builds or condos are simply out of her budget.

“We’ve tried to apply to a few that looked hopeful, and then [have been] rejected last minute due to no reason. We’re just desperate at this point.”

She says the situation has taken a toll on her grades and mental health. “The past few days I couldn’t really get much sleep, bawling my eyes out because it’s just so frustrating.”

Miranda fears she’ll be homeless by Christmas if they can’t find something soon.

“I’m petrified. I came here for a better life.”

She isn’t sure what options she has if her deadline comes and goes. “Find temporary housing in a motel or something. I’m trying to figure that out right now. Homeless shelter… I don’t even know if I’d be able to do that. But leaving the country is not an option. I have to figure out something here.”

Miranda says she reached out to UBC in the spring, letting the university know of her situation, but says at this time staying on campus past December doesn’t seem to be on the table.

“I try not to let that get the best of me because I have to complete my degree because that impacts immigration processes further down the line. But it has [impacted] my mental health quite severely.”

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She wants the provincial government and post-secondary institutions to come up with a way to ensure students have a place to go once they leave school.

“I definitely think there’s a lot that they could do for incoming students and students that are continuing their studies. As for me, I do understand the challenges that once I complete my studies, I’m not part of the system so it becomes really hard to make those exceptions.

“I really wish they had some sort of hybrid program that could cater and empathize with the situation that international students face.”

She worries if she’s allowed to stay on campus but then finds a place off-campus, she’ll have to pay any fees associated with breaking the contract and says she can’t afford to do both.

Miranda says the plan for now is to continue searching for a new home.