Kelowna lacks wheelchair-accessible housing according to Paul Stackhouse who knows the challenges first hand.

He lives in a one-bedroom rental that barely fits his wheelchair after being forced to move out of a space built with his needs in mind. 

Stackhouse is one of more than 80 residents who were evacuated from Hadgraft Wilson Place, a low-income rental building with multiple wheelchair-accessible suites. The building was evacuated in April after it began to show signs of damage as the UBCO downtown campus started its construction. 

Hadgraft Wilson Place had counters he could roll up to, a stove he was able to use without reaching across hot burners, upper cabinets with shelves he could pull out and down, and a bathroom set up he could manoeuvre in. 

Stackhouse still calls Hadgraft "my forever home", but believes the building will never be suitable for occupancy again.

After evacuating from Hadgraft, residents were temporarily put up in hotels and although his room had accessible features it was not fully wheelchair friendly. From there, Okanagan College in Kelowna offered up its new dorm building to house Hadgraft residents for the summer. Stackhouse was pleased to find the college made wheelchair-accessible rooms a priority and he was given a room fit for his needs. 

Their time at the college came to an end on Aug. 15 as the institution prepared for the fall semester. 

Stackhouse said he applied to about 16 different places and reached out to property managers and building owners to inquire about accessible units. Not one of the applications he filed was for a wheelchair-accessible place, "just because there are none," Stackhouse said. 

"Wheelchair-accessible apartments are few and far between. Usually when a person similar to me, when we all get an accessible place to live we don't leave."

Now, he's paying more than double the rent in a place that isn't fit for him. 

In his rental at 1740 Richter Street, the upper kitchen cabinets sit empty, Stackhouse can't roll up to the kitchen sink or counter at a comfortable angle, the bathroom is too tight for his chair, and the patio has a raised lip that would require a custom built ramp for him to get outside.

"I'm very grateful to have a roof over my head," Stackhouse said, noting that the one-time payment of $12,000 from the University of B.C. to help Hadgraft residents find new rentals is the only reason he isn't in a homeless shelter. 

His monthly income as a person with a disability is $1,500 and far less than Kelowna's average one-bedroom rent for December 2024 sits at $1,900 according to apartment hunting site Zumper. 

But living in a space where basic hygiene practices and meal prep are difficult to complete feels dehumanizing, according to Stackhouse. 

"It seems like a very cluttered space because I can't get up and put things away, I can't reach anything," said Stackhouse about his kitchen. "Using the stove, it's kind of difficult to reach around [the hot burners]."

His bathroom is just wide enough to wheel into, Stackhouse commented, "Even to do something as simple as brush my teeth or wash my hands, I have to twist my back and twist all the way around."

The building Stackhouse lives in does have an elevator allowing him to access the laundry facilities on the second floor, but with stacked machines, he's not able to reach the buttons on the dryer. 

"I can wash my clothes, but I can't dry them unless I got to knock on a neighbour's door," Stackhouse said.

He asked the property managers if one of the dryer units could be put on the floor for his use, but his request was turned down. 

British Columbia has many laws regarding making spaces accessible for wheelchair users in the BC Building Code but does not have any laws in place requiring new apartment or condo buildings to ensure a certain number of units are accessible for anyone with mobility challenges. 

B.C. has over 926,000 people living with a disability. In June 2021 the Accessible B.C. Act was implemented. 

Through the act, municipalities are required to complete an Accessibility Plan. According to the City of Kelowna's website, the plan is to be brought in front of council before the end of 2024, however, there are no more council meetings scheduled this year. 

Over the next three years, Accessible B.C. says its top priorities are creating a culture of accessibility and inclusion, improving access to information and communication, improving accessibility in existing spaces, accessible employment, and ensuring those living with a disability have access to needed goods and services.