For Corrina Bowers, the fear of her family becoming homeless is growing with each passing day.
The 22-year-old lives with her mother and younger sister at 4504 15th Ave., in Vernon, but not for long.
The landlord of the building is doing renovations, and after an unsuccessful fight with the Residential Tenancy Branch (RTB), the family will have to leave by Jan. 31.
But finding a new place to live is proving impossible.
Bowers' mother, Robin Lessard, is terminally ill and in palliative care at home.
Bowers is unable to work and bring in income between caring for her mother full-time and packing up their belongings ahead of the impending move 香蕉视频直播� to where, she doesn't yet know.
With minimal income, Bowers is unable to find a place to rent in an unaffordable housing market.
"It's a very real possibility," Bowers said about the chance her family could become homeless, "which is scary because my mom can't run her medical equipment on the streets."
Lessard spoke to The Morning Star after receiving a notice of eviction from her landlord, Andrew Rebeyka of Birchwood Peak Properties.
At the time, she said she and 60 other residents in three Vernon apartments were given notices to vacate by the end of September 2024. Some of them fought the evictions, claiming it was a "renoviction." Others took an $8,000 settlement and moved out by the date on their notice.
The term renoviction refers to an eviction carried out to allow renovations to be done to a housing unit, particularly in cases where the landlord completes minor repairs in order to get the tenants out and increase the rent on the units.
Since 2021, the RTB has attempted to crack down on renovictions by introducing a dispute resolution process in which an arbitrator decides if ending the tenancy is the only way to complete repairs, which must be necessary to preserve the lifespan of the unit.
Lessard and her daughter fought the eviction with the RTB, and that process extended their tenancy past the original Sept. 30 move-out date.
However, the arbitrator ultimately decided that the renovations were legitimate, and upheld the eviction of Lessard and 18 other tenants.
Lessard's rent at the 15th Avenue apartment was a little over $1,000, well below market rent. A three-bedroom in Vernon is around $3,000 per month, according to
Bowers isn't able to work and only has just over $1,000 in disability payments coming in each month.
Lessard also receives disability payments, but it's hard to say how much longer she has to live. She was given a year to live in August 2023.
"It could be weeks, it could be a month," Bowers said, adding this uncertainty makes it hard to find a place to rent, as landlords haven't been keen to rent to a 22-year-old whose mother and her income could be gone at any time.
Add in the fact that the family has three cats, and finding a willing landlord has been next to impossible.
"With my mom's condition, everybody's concern is how am I going to be able to pay rent after she's gone," Bowers said.
Bowers is set to take custody of her younger sister when Lessard passes.
She is unable to focus on her remaining time with her mother 香蕉视频直播� whose health she says is declining rapidly 香蕉视频直播� because she doesn't know where she and her sister will live when she's gone.
"It's really hard," she said. "I'm really stressed out."
Turning Points Collaborative Society has been working with the family to find a housing solution, but with no luck yet.
"There is a tremendous lack of affordable family housing in Vernon, and sadly this family is experiencing that first-hand," said Laurie Case, Turning Points' executive director of communications.
"Our team has been helping them source a safe and affordable space, but to date we have been unsuccessful. We are able to connect the family with a rent supplement, but unfortunately it isn't enough to cover the market rental rates of available units.
Case said for this family to find housing, it's going to come down to community support.
"If there are landlords or homeowners who think they may have a space for these young people, this family really needs your support."
Bowers is hoping someone will help them with a place to stay after the end of the month.
She said even a short-term housing situation would allow them to have time to figure out a longer term arrangement.
Either a two or three-bedroom space would be a Godsend, she said.
Anyone willing to help Bowers and her family can email her at gizmou@icloud.com or call or text 778-212-4839.
Bowers has also set up a campaign at https://gofund.me/3804aaec with a goal of raising $1,800 to help their situation. As of early Thursday afternoon, the online fundraiser has received no donations.
Bowers said while the RTB ruled the eviction was lawful and the renovations were legitimate, "it could have been done more humanely," such as by renovating the buildings unit by unit or building by building rather than evicting 60 people all at once.
She also wonders why construction crews were able to stay at the apartments while work was underway but tenants were told the buildings were unlivable.
Bowers' sister will soon turn 18 and is in her senior year of high school. Her graduation pictures are on Jan. 30. They may be facing homelessness the next day.
"She's a good kid," Bowers said, though she wonders what her future will look like if support doesn't come from somewhere.
Bowers herself has dreams of being a forensic investigator, but she had to quit her college classes.
Instead, she's busy changing her mother's bedding, doing laundry, providing medications, cooking, packing, and all the time wondering if any of this will be possible come February.
